Report: Helicopter Company Blames Kobe Bryant and His Daughter for Voluntarily Assuming Risk of Crash

Even though the death of Kobe Bryant over three months ago has started to sink in for Los Angeles Lakers fans, the fallout from it continues.

After the helicopter crash that killed Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others, the elder Bryant’s widow Vanessa filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Island Express Helicopters Inc., the company that operated the vehicle.

However, TMZ reported on Monday that Island Express filed a legal document as an answer to the suit. In the document, the company alleges that the crash was the fault of Kobe Bryant and his daughter.

“So, here’s how it breaks down,” wrote TMZ. “Island Express says in its answer, ‘Kobe Bryant and GB [Gigi] had actual knowledge of all of the circumstances, particular dangers, and an appreciation of the risks involved and the magnitude thereof, and proceeded to encounter a known risk, and voluntarily assumed the risk of the accident, injury … thereby barring or reducing [Vanessa’s] claim for damages.’”

In addition, according to TMZ, Island Express also said the accident was the result “of an unavoidable accident.” The company even said in the legal document that they can’t be held responsible because the crash was an “act of God.”

Vanessa Bryant’s wrongful death suit was initially filed on Feb. 24, about four weeks after the crash.

Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, as well as the perpetually backlogged state of the judicial system, it will likely be quite a while before there’s some sort of conclusion to the case.