It has shockingly been nearly five months since the tragic death of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna Bryant, and seven others in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26.
Since that day, Vanessa Bryant has remained stronger than anyone would expect her to given the circumstances. She gave an emotional eulogy at the “Celebration of Life” ceremony at Staples Center on Feb. 24, and also has been involved in other initiatives related to the accident.
Vanessa’s latest efforts is working with Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) to help pass the “Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act.”
“I strongly urge that the United States Congress pass a federal law that would improve the safety of helicopters operating in this country. I believe there is a chance that Kobe and Gianna would still be alive today if their helicopter had been equipped with the safety equipment required by this pending federal legislation,” Vanessa said in a statement.
“I believe that these safety measures will save many lives. As passengers traveling on aircrafts we assume that proper safety measures are in order to prevent accidents from happening before we fly. It’s unfortunate that this is not the case and aircraft companies must do their part to protect lives. Having Kobe’s and Gianna’s names associated with this federal law that has the potential to save countless lives would be a fitting tribute to their memory.”
The act is currently being reviewed at the federal level, and would require helicopters carrying six or more passengers to be equipped with a data and voice recorder.
There is still a lot of mystery about what happened on that Sunday morning in January, but Bryant — as well as lawmakers — seem committed to making sure that something similar to it won’t happen again.
This act, should it be passed, will hopefully save lives in the future. If it can, it would be perhaps the only good to come out of an entirely tragic moment.
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