Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli was among the victims of the helicopter crash that also killed former Lakers star Kobe Bryant, OCC assistant coach Ron La Ruffa confirmed Sunday, Jan 26. Altobelli’s brother Tony, Orange Coast College’s sports information director, told CNN that Altobelli’s wife Keri and daughter Alyssa also were among the crash victims.
Alyssa was a club basketball teammate of Bryant’s 13-year-old daugther Gianna Bryant who also was killed in the crash. The other victims have not yet been identified. Tony Altobelli was walking around Balboa Peninsula when he got a text message that Bryant died in a helicopter crash. So he texted Orange Coast College women’s basketball coach Sammy Doucette who had been with Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy before going to OCC.
