Another victim has been identified from the tragic crash that claimed the lives ofKobe Bryantand his 13-year-old daughter Gianna on Sunday morning.
Girls basketball coach Christina Mauser, of Harbor Day School in Orange County, was also one of the nine aboard the private helicopter that went down in Calabasas, California, the mayor of Costa Mesa, Katrina Foley, confirmed.
Christina’s husband, and Tijuana Dogs singer, Matt Mauser also confirmed the news, writing on Facebook, “My kids and I are devastated. We lost our beautiful wife and mom today in a helicopter crash. Please respect our privacy. Thank you for all the well wishes they mean so much.”
Christina Mauser.Facebook
Bryant’s daughter, nicknamed Gigi, was also onboard the private helicopter when it went down on Sunday, reps for the former basketball player toldTMZ Sports. The outlet said that Bryant’s wife, Vanessa Bryant — with whom he shares all four children — was not onboard.
Emergency personnel responded but none of the nine people onboard survived, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said during a press conference.
Sources told ESPN that the helicopterwas headed to a travel basketball game for Gianna.
Gianna Bryant, Kobe Bryant.Allen Berezovsky/Getty
Spokespersons for Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Earlier this month, the former NBA star — who retired in 2016 — revealed that he had recently started watching basketball all the time because of his daughter.
“Before Gigi got into basketball I hardly watched it, butnow that’s she’s into basketball, we watch every night,” Kobe told former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the Showtime Basketball podcastAll the Smoke.
Kobe and his daughter also attended several Lakers games before the start of the new year, marking the first time he had been to a game since his jersey was retired in 2017.
“We just had so much fun because it was the first time I was seeing the game through her eyes,” the five-time NBA champion said of sharing the experience with his daughter.
“It wasn’t me sitting there, you know, as an athlete or a player or something like that, and you know it’s like about me, and I don’t like that,” he added. “It was her, she was having such a good time.”
source: people.com
