Upon witnessing a car accident involving a Tesla outside a Starbucks near his home in September 2018, Kobe Bryant stepped in to aid one of the drivers. Cruising with his dark Range Rover in the vicinity, the Los Angeles Lakers legend noticed a vehicle running a red light and crashing into the Tesla. He pulled over to ensure the well-being of the driver, who was later identified as Ryan Williams.
Williams was deeply touched by Bryant's gesture. He never expected genuine kindness from anybody that day, let alone from someone as famous as Kobe. Unsurprisingly, it was an unforgettable moment for the unlucky driver.
"Kobe witnessed someone crash into me at 65mph. He ran to my car. He helped. Most of all, he was kind. A week later, he saw me and my family at Starbucks. He told my wife how lucky I was to be alive," Williams once recalled .
Kobe, the neighborhood friend
Fortunately for Williams, he didn't suffer any serious injury from that accident. If anything, he found a new friend in Bryant.
According to the crash survivor, he and the five-time NBA champion had been pals since that day. Whenever they ran into each other, Ryan said Kobe never failed to make their encounter worthwhile.
"From that time on, whenever we'd see him in Newport Coast, he continued to be kind. A first bump to my son... a high five to my daughter... a word of wisdom to me," Williams revealed.
Newport Beach lost one of its nicest residents
Apparently, Williams' car accident wasn't the only time Bean helped in. Former Newport Beach mayor Will O'Neill was well aware of Kobe's acts of kindness, and he was very happy to have the NBA icon as a resident of the city.
That said, O'Neill truly regretted losing someone as "genuinely good" as Bryant in such a tragic helicopter crash in 2020.
"He was a genuinely good person, a nice person, he was someone if you walked up to at Starbucks or in the grocery store, he'd take a smiling picture and, that's who he was, a part of the community, a neighbor. You would see him at basketball games, you'd see him at the park, you'd see him around and all over our city," O'Neill once reflected on Kobe.
"We feel like we've lost a neighbor, and unfortunately, we lost six more today as well. It's hard to process. He was generous to charities, and… there have been great stories being told about him - coming to the aid of people who got into car accidents," he added.
On January 26, 2020, the world was saddened by the tragic news of the Lakers legend's death. He, along with his daughter Gianna, were among the nine people killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Nevertheless, Bryant's legacy continues to live on through his NBA legacy and the good things he did for the community.
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