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Los Angeles, U.S. | Xinhua | The family of late NBA star Kobe Bryant will receive a 28.85 million U.S. dollars settlement from Los Angeles County, in the western U.S. state of California, over the retired NBA star helicopter crash photos.
The settlement would resolve all claims involving the county, Mira Hashmall, lead trial counsel for Los Angeles County in the case, said in a statement Tuesday.
Kobe and his daughter Giannia Bryant were killed on Jan. 26, 2020, in a helicopter crash incident with other seven people on board in Los Angeles.
Later that year, Kobe’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, sued the Los Angeles County for negligence and invasion of privacy for the sheriff’s department personnel from the county leaking graphic photos of the crash site to public, including showing them in a bar.
The sheriff’s deputies and firefighters who rushed to the scene were reported snapping pictures of the carnage, including the mangled remains of the Los Angeles Lakers’ legend and his 13-year-old daughter.
Tuesday’s settlement will also resolve all outstanding claims in state court and any future claims by the Bryant’s three other children, according to Hashmall, who said “we hope Ms. Bryant and her children continue to heal from their loss.”
“Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs. Bryant’s courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct,” Vanessa Bryant’s attorney Luis Li said in a statement quoted by local media.
“She fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family were treated with similar disrespect. We hope her victory at trial and this settlement will put an end to this practice,” the statement said.
