Kobe Bryant, 41, Dead in Helicopter Crash!

Early this morning, popular news site TMZ was shutdown momentarily after a report of Kobe Bryant’s death in Calabasas.

Despite TMZ’s credibility over the years, many fans are in total disbelief following TMZ’s breaking report that claimed NBA legend Kobe Bryant was killed in a private helicopter along with everyone else onboard.

According to TMZ:

Kobe was traveling with at least 3 other people in his private helicopter when it went down. A fire broke out. Emergency personnel responded, but nobody on board survived. 5 people are confirmed dead. We’re told Vanessa Bryant was not among those on board.

Eyewitnesses also tell us that they heard the helicopter’s engine sputtering before it went down. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Bryant’s sudden death story drew the attention of millions and caused the website’s servers to overload.

The site also reports that:

Kobe has famously used a helicopter to travel for years — dating back to when he played for the Lakers. He was known for commuting from Newport Beach, CA to the STAPLES Center in DTLA in his Sikorsky S-76 chopper.

Kobe, 41, is survived by his wife Vanessa Bryant, and their four daughters — Gianna, Natalia and Bianca and their newborn Capri.

So far, there’s no comment from Harvey nor his team on this story.