USC basketball recruit Alijah Arenas says surviving a Cybertruck crash taught him that he is "very lucky—and not even just to be here. Just in general, in life." The accident happened in April after a predawn workout in Chatsworth, California. Arenas, the son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, says he was headed home when he noticed the Cybertruck he was driving malfunctioning, the Los Angeles Times reports. "The wheel wasn't responding like I was in the car," he said Tuesday. The vehicle ultimately veered off-road, striking a fire hydrant and then a tree before catching fire. Arenas described regaining consciousness inside the burning vehicle, disoriented and unable to open the doors.
He attempted to use his phone's Tesla app as a digital key without success. As smoke filled the cabin, Arenas tried to escape by breaking the window—first with his hands, then with his feet—while drifting in and out of consciousness. He managed to douse himself with water to withstand the heat and made noise to attract help. Eventually, good Samaritans arrived and pulled him from the vehicle after he succeeded in busting a window. Arenas spent about ten minutes trapped before his rescue. He suffered smoke inhalation and was placed in a medically induced coma to aid recovery, but avoided major long-term injuries.
After six days in the hospital, Arenas began rehab and has since returned to basketball activities, officially enrolling at USC and practicing with the team. He said Tuesday that he takes full responsibility for the crash, despite the apparent malfunction, People reports. "I don't want to put anyone else in this situation, the people who made the car, anything like that," he said. The 18-year-old said he believes he was spared so he could help others in the same way that his rescuers helped him, the Times reports. "There are amazing people in this world that are willing to help and risk their own bodies for you," he said. "For me, it was like, I don't ever want to think about me ever again."
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