Following the tragic death of Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, It has come to the knowledge of OduNews.com that the basketball star already had an agreement with his wife that they would never fly together – which explains while she was not in the helicopter crash.
Kobe Bryant used helicopters to get around Los Angeles, but he and his wife Vanessa Bryant made a point not to fly together.
“He and Vanessa had a deal that they would never fly on a helicopter together,” a source tells PEOPLE of the couple, who tied the knot in 2001.
Bryant, who was killed alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people in Sunday’s crash, is survived by Vanessa, 37, and their daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, who was born in June 2019.
The former NBA player, 41, and his daughter were on their way to a youth basketball game at the time of the crash, according to ESPN.
The same source also told PEOPLE that Bryant “only” flew in helicopters with pilot Ara Zobayan, who was among those killed in the crash.
Bryant previously shared that he began using helicopters while he still played for the Los Angeles Lakers as a way to spend more time with his family — and less time stuck in traffic.
Kobe Bryant, Vanessa Laine, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, and Natalia Diamante Bryant
Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports Awards, Arrivals, Los Angeles, USA – 14 Jul 2016
“I was sitting in traffic and I wound up missing like a school play,” he told Alex Rodriguez in 2018. “I had to figure out a way where I could still train and focus on the craft but still not compromise family time.”
“So that’s when I looked into helicopters, to be able to get down and back in 15 minutes and that’s when it started,” he added.
