Kobe Bryant death: Weeks before he died, the NBA legend helped victims injured in a car accident
On December 13, 2019, late legend Kobe Bryant had selflessly helped people who were injured in a car crash in Newport Beach.
Bryant, who passed away on Sunday, January 26, morning following a helicopter crash, had stepped out and waited with the victims to help comfort them. He is also remembered for helping a driver involved in a car crash in September 2018.
Last month, the video of him helping car crash victims went viral, with the basketball superstar sticking around comforting the people involved until the first responder showed up to the scene. The video, by TMZ, showed Bryant hugging people at the scene following the crash.
In the video, Bryant is seen walking past his SUV, leaving the doors wide open and rushing to help people on the scene. He is also seen "gesturing the traffic" with a man narrating in the video, "that's Kobe Bryant in the pink over the top of that silver car, that's his Range with the blinkers on."
It seems as though Bryant waited in the background of the accident's aftermath as people yelled to confirm that help was on its way.
This wasn't the first time the public witnessed Bryant helping people in need. He was seen helping victims of another car crash in September 2018 in the same area of Newport beach.
Bryant had stopped to check on the driver of the Tesla that had been hit by a vehicle that had jumped a red light. A rep for Bryant had revealed that the NBA player had offered to take pictures of the crash scene because the driver's phone was unable to do so.
Although no one was gravely injured, Bryant's good samaritan move did not go unnoticed as people praised him for helping out.
In unfortunate news, the former Laker and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna passed away on Sunday morning following a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
TMZ reported that Bryant was traveling in his Sikorsky S-76 helicopter with four other people — everyone on board succumbed to the crash. Mountain bikers reported the smoke and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department responded to the crash which occurred near Las Virgenes Rd and Willow Glen St at about 10 am.
While the crash is still under investigation, witnesses have said to have reported the "helicopter's engine sputtering before it went down." The flight plan revealed that the helicopter that made its departure from John Wayne Airport in Orange County at 9.06 am PST gave out its last signal at 9.45 am.
Kobe and his daughter "Gigi" are survived by Bryant's wife Vanessa and the couple's three daughters — Natalia, Bianca and seven-month-old Capri.