Vanessa Bryant Awarded $16 Million in Damages in Kobe Crash Site Photos Case

Vanessa Bryant was awarded $16 million in damages in her lawsuit against Los Angeles County in a verdict announced on Aug. 24, per the Los Angeles Times. Her co-plaintiff, Christopher Chester, was also awarded $15 million.

Bryant and Chester had sued the county for emotional distress and mental anguish, alleging that emergency personnel shared graphic images from the helicopter crash of Bryant's late husband Kobe Bryant and the couple's daughter Gianna, as well as Chester's late wife Sarah and their 13-year-old daughter Payton, who were also killed in the tragic accident. The jury found that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Fire Department had shared photos of Bryant and Chester's deceased loved ones directly following the crash.

Last week, Bryant took the stand for the first time in the case, and opened up about when she initially learned of the images being shared with unauthorized people. "I broke down and cried and I just wanted to run down the block and scream," she testified, according to People. "I can't escape my body. I can't escape what I feel."