* Alicia Keys leads Grammys tribute to Kobe Bryant * Bryant helicopter 'limo-esque' with strong safety record - ex-pilot * Distraught LeBron learned of Bryant's death while flying home * 'Absolutely heartbreaking': Basketball stars pay tribute to Kobe Bryant * Teams pay homage to Kobe Bryant with shot clock violations * Kobe's praise for daughter Gianna on Jimmy Kimmel Live The graphic report made it clear: Bryant and the passengers almost certainly were dead in an instant due to blunt trauma. His remains had to be identified by his fingerprints. One of the most popular sports figures in Los Angeles and a celebrity around the globe, Bryant was broken beyond recognition when his body was found in the dirt outside the wreckage of the chopper. The reports by the Los Angeles County coroner's office provide a clinical but unvarnished look at just how brutal the crash was, describing broken bones, dismembered body parts and a stench of fuel on what remained of clothing that burned.
The pilot flying Kobe Bryant and seven others to a youth basketball tournament did not have alcohol or drugs in his system, and all nine sustained immediately fatal injuries when their helicopter slammed into a hillside outside Los Angeles in January, according to autopsies released Friday. Kobe Bryant and all eight others aboard died in the January 26 helicopter crash just outside Los Angeles.