(CNN) — Vanessa Bryant, widow of NBA legend Kobe Bryanttestified Friday that she suffers from panic attacks and anxiety over the prospect of seeing photos of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed her husband, teenage daughter and seven others.
On the witness stand in her federal lawsuit once morest Los Angeles County, Vanessa Bryant recalled being home with her family, nursing her 7-month-old daughter Capri, when she learned from a Los Angeles Times report that the county sheriff’s deputies sharing graphic photos of the crash.
“I just remember that I didn’t want to react because the girls were in the room,” he testified, his voice rising with emotion. “I said, ‘I can’t do this… And I ran out of the house and ran to the side of the house so the girls mightn’t see me. I wanted to run… down the street and scream. I can’t get out of my body. I can’t escape what I feel.”
Along with Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also killed in the crash, Bryant filed a federal civil lawsuit alleging that Los Angeles County invaded his privacy and inflicted emotional distress by failing to adequately contain the release of the photos that, according to testimony from a witness, show not only the wreckage of the helicopter, but the mangled bodies of the victims.
So far, the trial has heard testimony from multiple police personnel, including an officer who testified that he showed graphic images of the scene while in a bar, another officer who said he shared the photos while playing a video game, an officer who He sent dozens of photos to someone he didn’t know, and one member of the fire department who showed the images to another during the awards ceremony’s cocktail hour.
Chester testified Thursday, saying he lives in fear that graphic photos taken of the bodies of his loved ones might one day resurface.
Chester took the stand following several days of hearing testimony from law enforcement officials, some of whom apologized, detailed the graphic nature of the photos, and explained why they were taken and shared and why orders were given. to delete them.
Vanessa Bryant has been in the courtroom hearing testimony from all the witnesses except the coroner. She left the courtroom abruptly when a bartender testified regarding seeing photos.
As the final witness for the prosecution, Bryant’s testimony is expected to last regarding three hours.
If time allows, the defense is expected to call Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva as its first witness, followed by Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.
Kobe Bryant, 41, and Gianna Bryant, 13, were among nine people killed in the January 26, 2020 helicopter crash on a hillside in Calabasas, California.
They were flying to a women’s basketball game at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks when the helicopter crashed, leaving no survivors.
