Statue of Kobe Bryant and Daughter Gianna Has Been Erected on 2-Year Anniversary of Fatal Crash

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Two years ago, on January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant, who was 41, boarded a helicopter with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. They were traveling from Orange County, California to Thousand Oaks, but they never reached their destination. Due to poor visibility due to fog, the helicopter ended up crashing in Calabasas, California. There were no survivors.

Not a lot of fans have visited the crash site, but one sculptor wanted to give them a reason to stop by. Sculptor Dan Medina created a sculpture honoring Kobe and Gigi. The bronze statue, which weighs 160 pounds, depicts Kobe wearing a Lakers uniform. He has his arm around his daughter Gigi, who is looking up to him. Gigi is also wearing a basketball uniform and holding a basketball. At the base of the statue, there is text that reads, “Heroes come and go, but legends are forever.” 

Exactly two years after the fatal crash, Medina put the statue he created in honor of Kobe and Gigi on a wagon, and he pulled it to the crash site by himself. Watch the video below to see this statue for yourself and to learn a little bit more about it.

As mentioned in the video, the statue was only at the crash site for one day on the two-year anniversary of the helicopter crash. Medina brought it there on a wagon in the morning, and he planned to remove it again later that evening.
If you remember, Kobe and Gigi weren’t the only people to lose their lives in that fatal crash. There were a total of 9 people on the helicopter, and Medina made sure to remember all of them. At the base of the statue he wrote all nine names.

Medina hopes that one day he will be allowed to erect a permanent statue at the location of the crash site. He also wants a permanent statue to be bigger than the temporary one. He wants it to be life size.