Family, friends gather for funeral of Christina Mauser, killed in Kobe Bryant helicopter crash

A private funeral was planned Sunday afternoon near Los Angeles for Christina Mauser, who was killed with NBA legend Kobe Bryant and seven others in a helicopter crash January 26.

The service was set to start at 1 p.m. inside the gymnasium of her alma mater, Edison High School in Huntington Beach, CNN affiliate KABC reported.

Mauser, 38, was a former coach at Orange County’s Harbor Day School, which Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna attended. Mauser worked most recently at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, where the group was headed for Gianna’s basketball tournament.

Gianna Bryant was also among the crash victims.

Mauser had three daughters, including Penny, who attended Harbor Day with Gianna, KABC reported.

She had flown in Bryant’s helicopter several times, and it always made her nervous, said her husband, Matthew Mauser.

Bryant handpicked her as an assistant coach for Gianna’s Mamba team, he said.

“She just adored the girls. She adored them all,” he said, according to the station’s report. “She treated them like her own. She loved what she did.”

The cause of the crash is under investigation.