The husband of a woman who died in a helicopter crash that also killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna opened up about his loss.
Christina Mauser was one of nine people killed when Bryant’s helicopter crashed in Calabasas, California, on Sunday. Her surviving husband, Matt Mauser, talked about his grief and his wife in a tearful interview with the “Today Show.”
“It’s horrible. It’s horrible. I’ve got three small kids, and I’m trying to figure out how to navigate life with three kids and no mom,” Mauser said. “I’m scared, I think, more than anything, I’m a little scared about the future.”
Bryant was the head coach of the Mamba Academy basketball team that his daughter was on. Christina was his assistant coach.
“Christina—well, [Bryant] didn’t choose Christina for just any ordinary reason,” Mauser said. “She was extraordinary. She was witty, incredibly witty. Funny—funny like nobody you’ve ever met … She was warm. She was incredibly bright. She was technologically incredibly savvy. She could figure out anything.”
“My wife could break you down in two seconds. She knew how to figure you out,” Mauser told the Today Show. “She was incredibly deep,” he said. “She had an amazing mind for basketball.”
Christina worked at the private Harbor Day School in Orange County, Southern California, CNN reported. Christina and Matt were both teachers at the school that Bryant’s daughters attended and shared three children ages 11, 9, and 3. Christina had been traveling in the helicopter alongside eight others, including Bryant, 41, and Gianna, 13, to a basketball tournament when it crashed northwest of Los Angeles around 10 a.m. Sunday, killing all those on board.
Also killed in the crash were Orange Coast College head baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri, and daughter Alyssa, who was reportedly a teammate and good friend of Gianna Bryant. Sarah Chester and her 13-year-old daughter Payton were also among the victims onboard the helicopter, as well as the pilot, Ara Zobayan.
Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley said in a statement Monday about Christina: “She coached the girl’s team. This devastating tragedy gets worse by the hour. So much pain for so many local families. Our hearts are broken & grieving for the families impacted.”
The Associated Press, The CNN Wire, and Epoch Times reporter Katabella Roberts contributed to this report.
