Kobe Bryant crash pics – How harrowing images of NBA legend’s helicopter crash were ‘leaked by cops’
IT'S been one year since the tragic helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven other people, but there's still one thing the star's family fears.
The ill-fated group, which included the NBA star - who is survived by his wife Vanessa Bryant, 38, and their three daughters Natalia Diamante, 18, Bianka Bella, 4, and Capri Kobe, 1 - died in the crash on January 26 last year.
They have each sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for invasion of privacy. The case is now part of an increasingly vast and complex web of litigation - including a wrongful death lawsuit - tied either directly or indirectly to the crash.
"One deputy even used his photos of the victims to try to impress a woman at a bar, bragging about how he had been at the crash site," Vanessa's lawsuit filed in alleges.
"No fewer than , pulled out their personal cell phones and snapped photos of the dead children, parents and coaches," the lawsuit claims.
That's when a bartender allegedly overheard the conversation and blew the whistle by reporting the information to police.
Villanueva allegedly didn't tell the victims' families about the images - their loved ones only learned of the scandal in the media after the story broke, according to the lawsuit.
The suit claims the Sheriff never gave the family clear answers.
All lawsuits related to the tragedy remain in the early stages as the National Transportation Safety Board wraps up its investigation into the crash. The board stemming from its probe and is slated to announce a probable cause for the crash at .