LOS ANGELES (KRON) – A California community gathered to remember three family members killed in the same helicopter crash as NBA legend Kobe Bryant.
John, Keri, and Alyssa Altobelli were honored during a public memorial at Angel Stadium on Monday.
John Altobelli was a baseball coach at Orange Coast College for nearly 30 years.
During his tenure, he was considered a father figure for many of the players at the college.
“It’s been tough. Obviously the guy’s been there for 28 years. So every time you look down the dugout, he’s been the face you’ve seen. And now when you show up everyday, he’s not there. That’s kind of the hardest part. I grew used to him being there for the last seven years. And our sophomores, they’ve seen him in that dugout everyday and the hardest part is just knowing that he won’t be there again,” said Nate Johnson, a baseball coach at Orange Coast College.
Last month, John was traveling with his wife Keri and their daughter Alyssa to a basketball game when the helicopter they were in crashed.
Alyssa played on the basketball team with Kobe Bryant’s daughter Gianna.
Bryant and Gianna also died in the crash.
John Altobelli and his wife Keri leave behind a high-school age daughter as well as John’s adult son.
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