Altobelli Family, Christina Mauser Remembered On Anniversary Of Calabasas Helicopter Crash
COSTA MESA (CBSLA) — Tuesday marked exactly one year since the devastating helicopter crash which claimed the lives of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna.
Also killed in the crash were 56-year-old John Altobelli, a longtime baseball coach at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, his 46-year-old wife Keri and their 13-year-old daughter Alyssa.
Altobelli's big sister, Dee Coleman, was one of the first to bring flowers to the baseball field Tuesday. The college had a 14, Altobelli's number, painted on the field along with his signature.
"Well, the tears come back awful quick, and I knew they would today," Coleman said. "I'm not done crying yet, but it feels good to be here because I know his presence is here, too. So that's why I came."
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School officials said the stadium was a result of Altobelli's dedication and fundraising for the program and its players. It's know as the House that Alto built.
"When I start thinking about Alto and his family, I can come out here with a cup of coffee and sit in the stands and stare at the field and just feel good," Tim Winer, a colleague, said.
The gates leading to the field were expected to remain open for much of the evening so people could spend some time at the place where Altobelli spent most of his career.
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There was also a virtual fundraising concert being held Tuesday night to honor another victim of the crash, 38-year-old Christina Mauser — a wife, mother and basketball coach from Huntington Beach.
Her husband, Matt, wrote the song "Lost" for her.
"I'm sad a lot, and I think the best thing to do is acknowledge when you're sad and maybe just say sometimes I need to dismiss myself and just kind of cry or just kind of be quiet for a little bit and then I can come out and be dad again," he said.
Sarah Chester, 45, and her 13-year-old daughter Payton died as well, along with 50-year-old pilot Ara Zobayan.
NTSB officials have not yet declared the cause of the crash or stated whether the additional equipment would have played a factor in the passengers' survival. A Feb. 9 meeting has been set to announce the results of the investigation.