{"id":43626,"date":"2022-08-12T21:35:52","date_gmt":"2022-08-12T21:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/kobe-bryant-crash-scene-photos-were-shared-during-awards-ceremony-cocktail-hour-witness-tests\/"},"modified":"2022-08-12T21:35:52","modified_gmt":"2022-08-12T21:35:52","slug":"kobe-bryant-crash-scene-photos-were-shared-during-awards-ceremony-cocktail-hour-witness-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/kobe-bryant-crash-scene-photos-were-shared-during-awards-ceremony-cocktail-hour-witness-tests\/","title":{"rendered":"Kobe Bryant crash scene photos were shared during awards ceremony cocktail hour, witness tests"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_34D13279-09AB-8E6E-6DE6-932D5C39C23D\">On Wednesday, the trial was launched for a federal civil lawsuit filed by Bryant&#8217;s widow, Vanessa Bryant, which claims that photos from the January 2020 crash were shared by county fire and sheriff&#8217;s department employees in settings irrelevant to the investigation, including at a bar.<\/div>\n<p>Former emergency medical technician and wife of a Los Angeles firefighter, Luella Weireter, testified in court on Friday that during the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California&#8217;s Golden Mike awards in February 2020, she saw LA County firefighter Tony Imbrenda share photos of Bryant&#8217;s remains and other images from the crash site with ceremony attendees.<\/p>\n<p>Many firefighters attended the media event, which was also honoring fire department public information officers for their work informing the public about wildfires.<\/p>\n<p>After a small group of people at her table convened to at at images on a cell phone, in what Weireter look characterized as being like a party trick, she testified about seeing one firefighter break away from the group, saying, &#8220;I can&#8217;t believe I just looked at Kobe&#8217;s burnt up body and now I&#8217;m about to eat.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>After that comment, Vanessa Bryant could be seen in the courtroom with her head in her hands, rocking back and forth, crying.<\/p>\n<p>Weireter is the cousin of Keri Altobelli, who, along with her husband John and daughter Alyssa, also perished in the helicopter crash.<\/p>\n<p>About two weeks after the awards ceremony, Weireter drove to a county fire station in Malibu and filed an official complaint with a battalion chief, she tested.  That same day, the LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone called her to follow up.<\/p>\n<div class=\"el__embedded el__embedded--standard\">\n<div class=\"el__storyelement--standard el__article--embed\">\n<div class=\"el__article--teaseimage\"><noscript><img alt=\"Vanessa Bryant leaves courtroom in tears after question about whether the body of her daughter appeared in photo\" class=\"media__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/210430201530-kobe-bryant-gianna-large-169.jpg?ssl=1\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>On Thursday afternoon, Vanessa Bryant walked out of court during testimony that described photos taken at the scene of the crash.  She became emotional when Victor Gutierrez, a bartender, was asked if he had seen the body of her daughter, Gianna Bryant, in the images.  Gutierrez had been describing what he saw in the photos shown by a Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s deputy at a bar on a prior date.<\/p>\n<p>Bryant cried, stood up and her attorney asked the presiding judge permission for Bryant to leave the courtroom.<\/p>\n<p>Bryant did not return for the remainder of Gutierrez&#8217;s testimony, which continued with a series of surveillance clips from the bar he was working at on January 28, 2020 &#8212; two days after the crash and a month before the awards ceremony.  Gutierrez described wincing at the photos and then admitted to telling the condition of the victims&#8217; bodies to five sets of people.<\/p>\n<div class=\"el__embedded el__embedded--standard\">\n<div class=\"el__storyelement--standard el__article--embed\">\n<div class=\"el__article--teaseimage\"><img class=\"media__image media__image--responsive\" alt=\"Jury selected in Vanessa Bryant's case against LA County over photos of Kobe's helicopter crash\" src-mini=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/211116084335-vanessa-bryant-file-small-169.jpg\" src-xsmall=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/211116084335-vanessa-bryant-file-medium-plus-169.jpg\" src-small=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/211116084335-vanessa-bryant-file-large-169.jpg\" src-medium=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/211116084335-vanessa-bryant-file-exlarge-169.jpg\" src-large=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/211116084335-vanessa-bryant-file-super-169.jpg\" src-full16x9=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/211116084335-vanessa-bryant-file-full-169.jpg\" src-mini1x1=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/211116084335-vanessa-bryant-file-small-11.jpg\" data-demand-load=\"not-loaded\" data-eq-pts=\"mini: 0, xsmall: 221, small: 308, medium: 461, large: 781\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhEAAJAJEAAAAAAP\/\/\/\/\/\/\/wAAACH5BAEAAAIALAAAAAAQAAkAAAIKlI+py+0Po5yUFQA7\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"Jury selected in Vanessa Bryant's case against LA County over photos of Kobe's helicopter crash\" class=\"media__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/211116084335-vanessa-bryant-file-large-169.jpg?ssl=1\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The trial is expected to last about two weeks and witnesses will likely include Vanessa Bryant and LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva.  The suit, which was filed in September 2020, seeks undisclosed damages and claims civil rights violations, negligence, emotional distress and violation of privacy.<\/p>\n<p>A jury of six women and four men was selected for the case.  They include a nun, someone who works in TV production for NBC Universal, a college student, a real estate investor, a pharmaceutical researcher, a computer science professor and a restaurant host.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Jason Kravarik, Natasha Chen, Amir Vera and Elizabeth Wolfe contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<p>  .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Wednesday, the trial was launched for a federal civil lawsuit filed by Bryant&#8217;s widow, Vanessa Bryant, which claims that photos from the January 2020 crash were shared by county fire and sheriff&#8217;s department employees in settings irrelevant to the investigation, including at a bar. Former emergency medical technician and wife of a Los Angeles &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/kobe-bryant-crash-scene-photos-were-shared-during-awards-ceremony-cocktail-hour-witness-tests\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Kobe Bryant crash scene photos were shared during awards ceremony cocktail hour, witness tests<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[845,17181,17182],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":43772,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/women-whose-cousin-died-in-kobe-bryant-crash-saw-officials-sharing-pics\/","url_meta":{"origin":43626,"position":0},"title":"Women Whose Cousin Died in Kobe Bryant Crash Saw Officials Sharing Pics","date":"August 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A woman who witnessed LA fire officials sharing photos of the Kobe Bryant crash tested on Friday. Luella Weireter also lost two family members in the January 2020 helicopter crash. Weireter was one of two private citizens to file a complaint against the county over the shared photos. loading Something\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50414,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/vanessa-bryant-called-to-witness-stand-in-suit-over-crash-scene-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":43626,"position":1},"title":"Vanessa Bryant called to witness stand in suit over crash scene photos","date":"August 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"On the witness stand in her federal lawsuit against Los Angeles County, Vanessa Bryant recalled being at home with her family, breastfeeding her 7-month-old daughter Capri, when she learned of a Los Angeles Times report about county sheriff's deputies sharing the graphic photos . \"I just remember not wanting to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50067,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/man-who-lost-his-wife-and-daughter-in-kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-tests-he-lives-in-fear-of-the-graphic-photos-resurfacing\/","url_meta":{"origin":43626,"position":2},"title":"Man who lost his wife and daughter in Kobe Bryant helicopter crash tests he lives in fear of the graphic photos resurfacing","date":"August 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\"I'm fearful all the time, every day,\" he told the court.Chester is a co-plaintiff in a federal civil lawsuit with Bryant's widow, Vanessa Bryant, alleging Los Angeles County invaded their privacy and failed to fully contain the spread of the photos, inflicting emotional distress. His wife, Sarah Chester, 13-year-old daughter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45169,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/kobe-bryant-they-reached-the-crash-site-then-set-off-a-chain-reaction-leading-to-a-macabre-court-case\/","url_meta":{"origin":43626,"position":3},"title":"Kobe Bryant: They reached the crash site, then set off a chain reaction leading to a macabre court case","date":"August 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Los Angeles CNN \u2014 Amid heavy fog and dense brush, eight members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department set off on foot up the remote terrain of the Santa Monica Mountains. It was about 10 am on January 26, 2020, and a helicopter had just crashed. Smoke filled the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42177,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/kobe-bryant-crash-photo-lawsuit-images-were-shared-among-dozens-of-la-county-employees-lawyer-alleges-in-opening-statements\/","url_meta":{"origin":43626,"position":4},"title":"Kobe Bryant crash photo lawsuit: Images were shared among dozens of LA County employees, lawyer alleges in opening statements","date":"August 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Vanessa Bryant's federal lawsuit claims that photos taken of the victims' remains, including those of her daughter and husband, were shared in settings irrelevant to the investigation, including at a bar and an awards gala. Her attorney, Luis Li, presented a flow chart of how initial photos spread from one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50390,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/vanessa-bryant-sobs-in-la-court-and-recalls-horrifying-moment-she-learned-of-graphic-family-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":43626,"position":5},"title":"Vanessa Bryant sobs in LA court and recalls horrifying moment she learned of graphic family photos","date":"August 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Vanessa Bryant broke down in tears while testing in a Los Angeles court room on Friday that she lives in constant fear that photographs of the bodies of her husband Kobe and daughter Gianna will be leaked on social media after officials shared them around.Bryant sobbed and gasped for air\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Vanessa Bryant broke down in tears while testing in a Los Angeles court room on Friday that she lives in constant fear that photographs of the bodies of her husband Kobe and daughter Gianna will be leaked on social media after officials shared them around","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2022\/08\/19\/19\/61550223-11127787-Vanessa_Bryant_broke_down_in_tears_while_testifying_in_a_Los_Ang-a-13_1660934544733.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/200126152140-02-kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-0126-super-tease.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43626"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43626\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}