The helicopter had slammed into the side of a nearby ridge, nine lives lost in the Sunday morning fog above Calabasas, California.
For Vanessa Bryant, that included her husband, Kobe, and her 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. Also gone were two of Gigi’s young teammates, three parents, an assistant coach and the pilot. They had been en route to a youth basketball game. Team Mamba they were called.
Now, Vanessa Bryant and the families of other victims had gathered inside a Los Angeles County Sheriff station, just down the hill from the accident, trying to make sense of the senseless.