USC men's basketball freshman Alijah Arenas spoke to reporters Tuesday for the first time after surviving a serious car accident in April. Arenas is not yet practicing for USC, but was in attendance for the team's practice this week.
The son of former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, Alijah, was placed in a medically induced coma after losing control of his Cybertruck, which crashed into a fire hydrant and tree and caught fire.
Arenas detailed his experience during crash, stating that he was working on his shooting late that night at the gym before heading back home. As he was driving, the car didn't register he was inside and wasn't working normally.
"I noticed that the wheel wasn't responding, like I wasn't in the car," Arenas said after USC's practice Tuesday.
"I switched lanes without meaning to, and I knew something was wrong," Arenas continued. "And next thing you know, I can't get back to the left lane. So then a car is coming towards me, and I'm thinking that I'll just pull over. So I speed up to pull over to the right in a neighborhood because there are cars parked on the street I'm on to the right. But when I'm speeding up to turn, I can't stop. The wheel's not responding to me as if I wasn't physically in the car."
The car crashed, and caught fire on impact. When he woke up shortly after the accident, there was smoke surrounding the vehicle and Arenas couldn't see outside. He described that it felt like he was in a "hot sauna," and passed out multiple times in the vehicle after the crash.
Arenas could not get out of the car because the door wouldn't open, but he was working on trying to break a window to escape. A couple onlookers managed to get him out of the car, and he was rushed to the hospital and placed into the induced coma due to the amount of smoke he inhaled. He did not suffer any broken bones, but when he woke up in the hospital, he initially couldn't speak.
Arena has since made a full recovery. He calls the two people that saved him "amazing" and is incredibly grateful the support he has gotten through the accident and recovery. He is expected to begin practicing for USC soon, and will make his college basketball debut this fall.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as USC Freshman Alijah Arenas Details What Happened During Scary Cybertruck Accident.
