By Wayne Dupree | January 27, 2020
Matt Mauser joined NBC’s Today morning show to discuss the loss of his wife, Christina, who died on Sunday morning along with NBA great Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Giana (GiGi).
Also killed in the crash were college baseball coach John Altobelli, his daughter Alyssa Altobelli and his wife, Keri Altobelli.
Christina worked at a private school in Orange County, California, and was also a girls basketball coach.
Mauser and his children are now grieving the passing of a wife and mother and also a friend in the Bryant family. He said that Kobe chose his wife to mentor his kids because she was “extraordinary.”
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“I’m scared, I think, more than anything… She was warm. She was incredibly bright.” Matt Mauser, husband of Christina Mauser, who is one of the victims in LA-area helicopter crash, remembers his wife and their friend Kobe Bryant pic.twitter.com/qhohGVzeGl [2]
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 27, 2020 [3]
Matt Mauser gushed about his “beautiful, smart, funny” wife, Christina Mauser, on the “Today” show [4] early Monday after a sleepless night following her death in Sunday’s fiery California chopper crash [5].
“I’ve got three small kids and I’m trying to figure out how to navigate life with three kids and no mom,” he told the show in a phone call.
“I’m scared more than anything — I’m a little scared for the future.”
Mauser — who had also taught Bryant’s kids both Spanish and some hoops — said he had a slumber party with his kids where they watched the endless tributes on TV to the nine who died, including Bryant, 41, and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.
Breaking down, he recalled his daughter telling him “it was nice to know that everyone was hurting along with us.”
“I know that that sounds odd, but it does kind of help,” he said on the morning show about the outpouring of “mourning and hurting.”
He said he knew all the victims in the Calabasas crash [6], saying, “It was a family. They all really cared for each other. [NY Post]
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Staying in connection with the story of the downed helicopter, a witness said they heard a “sputtering” before the crash and could see the aircraft in distress – but witness testimony can be sketchy. From the tower, recordings sound like the weather was the factor. The pilot couldn’t see and allegedly using VFR in IFR condition.
Regardless of how the crash happened, there are no survivors. The details don’t change the outcome. Nine people are gone, including two thirteen-year-old girls. This is one of those tragedies where answers will provide no relief. There is no spin to put on this. Bryant, as he was finishing his career and in retirement, became involved in a lot of charity work and used his stance for the good of society.
All lives are equally important, and the devastation of this tragic event is a reminder just how fragile life is. I reached out to my two grown kids to discuss it immediately.
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It brings sadness and a sense of fear for most people. It’s hard to digest what the families of those lost are going through. That feeling stays with you for the remainder of your time here on Earth.
I would imagine that this will result in foundations being established in the names of those perished and memorials. For right now, it’s about the grieving and processing involved with loss.
My heart goes out to the families.
This piece originally appeared on WayneDupree.com [9] and is used by permission.
Read more at WayneDupree.com:
Report: This Family Lost Three People in Today’s Helicopter Crash [10]
In His Darkest Moments, Devout Catholic Christian Kobe Bryant Turned to God [11]
Report: Calls to Court-Martial Lt. Col. Vindman Grow Louder [12]