UPDATE: The names of the remaining four victims of the deadly crash that killed Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna have been revealed. The fatalities also included Mamba Academy coach Christina Mauser, fellow Mamba teammate Payton Chester, Payton's mother Sarah Chester, and pilot Ara Zobayan.
ORIGINAL STORY: The world is undoubtedly heavier following news of the sudden passing of Kobe Bryant's early Sunday morning in Los Angeles. In the swarm of news and reports following the icon's passing, it's been a task to sift through the facts surrounding the helicopter crash that took his life.
Since then, it has been confirmed that Bryant was traveling with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant who also tragically passed away in the crash as the duo was traveling to Thousand Oaks for a match at Bryant's Mamba Academy. Per CNN, the other passengers who perished in the crash included 56-year-old Orange Coast College (OCC) baseball coach John Altobelli, his daughter Alyssa Altobelli, and wife Keri Altobelli.
According to OCC assistant baseball coach Ron La Ruffa, Gianna and Alyssa were teammates at the Mamba Academy.
“It was something John routinely did, flying up with Kobe to attend games with his daughter,” La Ruffa revealed.
Per the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department, the aircraft's manifest indicates that there were nine total people aboard the helicopter, not the initial tally of 5 that was reported at first. Sheriff Alen Villanueva confirmed that these nine included the pilot and eight others. He has maintained that they will await a coroner's official report before revealing the remaining victims' identities out of respect for their loved ones.
Earlier, rumors that Bryant's former teammate and actor Rick Fox was aboard the aircraft. However, this report has since been debunked with several sources, including Fox's family confirming that he was not on the helicopter Sunday morning.
This story is still updating.