The USC Trojans mens’ basketball recruit seriously injured in a car crash on Thursday is awake and alert after being placed in an induced coma, according to a report.
Shams Charania, who covers the NBA for ESPN, posted a statement on X from the family of Alijah Arenas on Friday morning, who said the 18-year-old is making progress in his recovery from the brutal collision.
“In a remarkable and hopeful development, Alijah Arenas has come out of his coma and has shown significant signs of progress within the last 24 hours,” the statement reads in part.
The family described a “powerful and emotional moment” in which Arenas opened his eyes and wrote down that he remembered smoke from the collision.
“Did anyone get hurt,” Arenas wrote on a piece of paper, according to the statement.
Arenas, son of three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, was involved in the single-vehicle crash just before 5 a.m. Thursday on the 7900 block of Corbin Avenue. Authorities said he lost control of his Tesla Cybertruck before it collided with a fire hydrant and a tree.
In Friday’s statement, the family praised the “brave individuals” who helped Arenas exit the Cybertruck following the crash, which was on fire.
One of the witnesses told the family that he could hear someone banging on the car’s window from the inside, but couldn’t see inside because of the thick smoke. After noticing that one window was cracked, he and other Good Samaritans used their strength to bend that window enough to pull the teenager out of the burning truck.
He was then placed in a medically induced coma.
“This act of courage, along with Alijah’s incredible will to survive, has been nothing short of miraculous,” the family said.
Charania reports that Arenas remains intubated as he recovers.
