LOS ANGELES, April 21: Family members of four of the eight passengers killed in a helicopter crash with Kobe Bryant and his daughter have joined the NBA star�s widow in filing wrongful death lawsuits against the companies that owned and operated the aircraft.
The suits on behalf of three members of one family, and a woman who helped coach Bryant�s 13-year-old daughter in basketball, were filed electronically on Sunday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The pair of lawsuits comes about two months after Bryant�s widow, Vanessa, the mother of Gianna, also sued Island Express Helicopters Inc., which operated the Sikorsky, and its owner, Island Express Holding Corp.
A person who answered the phone at Island Express Helicopters declined to comment and an email from The Associated Press requesting comment was not immediately returned.
Unlike Vanessa Bryant�s lengthy lawsuit, the new identical 7-page cases do not name the dead pilot, Ara Zobayan, or his representative, as a defendant. All the suits allege that the two companies were careless and negligent.
One suit was filed by two surviving children of Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli and his wife Keri. Their daughter Alyssa played basketball with Gianna. � AP
