Source: Mel Melcon / Getty
It’s hard to believe it’s been two years since the tragic helicopter crash that took the lives of NBA great Kobe Bryant and his daughter GiGi, as well as seven of people that were on board that fateful day, John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and their daughter Alyssa; Christina Mauser; Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton; and pilot Ara Zobayan
In remembrance of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi, Sculptor Dan Medina has memorialized them with a statue at the site where they died two years ago. Engraved on the statue’s steel pedestal are the names of all nine victims of the helicopter crash, along with an inscription of Kobe Bryant’s famous quote:
“Heroes come and go, but legends are forever.”
The touching 160-pound bronze statue is of Kobe Bryant in his Lakers uniform and with his arm around Gianna, who is also wearing a basketball uniform while holding a basketball by her side.
According to Dan Medina:
“On this day, the second anniversary of the accident, I decided to bring it up from sunrise to sunset and create a bit of a healing process for fans,” he said. “Today was special because I witnessed a lot of that. People would come up and they would leave with some sort of satisfaction.”
The statue that was taken and nestled on the hill in Calabasa, California will only be their temporarily, according to Dan Medina it will be gone by Thursday, but said it was his hope the city of Los Angeles would allow him to permanently place a larger, life-sized version at the site.
Take a look at the memorial statue below.
Source: Radio One Digital
