Alijah Arenas seen on the court during the 48th Annual McDonald's All-American Games
Alijah Arenas on the court during the 48th Annual McDonald's All-American Games with halftime performance from GloRilla at Barclays Center on April 1, 2025.
Alijah Arenas opened up about his April car accident that left him in a medically induced coma
The 18-year-old son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas and his ex Laura Govan spoke about the crash in a new interview
Alijah signed to USC Trojan's basketball team earlier this month after recovering
Alijah Arenas is opening up about his car accident that left him in a medically induced coma.
On Tuesday, June 24, the 18-year-old son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas gave details about the April car crash. Speaking in a new interview, Alijah said he was heading home after a workout in the early hours of April 24, when his Cybertruck lost control.
“Me going on the way to my house, the car didn’t really register that I was in there,” he said, per USCFootball.com. “So even to this day, the car app still says I’m at the gym.”
He went on to add that he noticed things like the car’s keypad turning on and off, and “the lights going off without me even doing anything.”
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BROOKLYN, NY - MARCH 28: McDonalds High School All American Alijah Arenas (16) poses during a photo shoot at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge on March 28, 2025, in Brooklyn, New York.
BROOKLYN, NY - MARCH 28: McDonalds High School All American Alijah Arenas (16) poses during a photo shoot at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge on March 28, 2025, in Brooklyn, New York.
At a traffic light, he realized that the wheel wasn’t moving the way it ought to be. Eventually, the USC men's basketball freshman attempted to turn onto a side road.
"I switched lanes without meaning to, and I knew something was wrong," he said. "And next thing you know, I can't get back to the left lane.”
He added, “So then a car is coming towards me, and I think 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 wasn't responding to me as if I wasn't in the car."
Alijah Arenas in the second half of a boys CIF State Division II championship basketball game at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty
Alijah recalled hitting a curb and passing out for three minutes. He came to thinking that he was at home; however, after hearing “cracking noises,” he discovered that he was in his car, which was on fire.
“I went into panic mode, instinctively, checked my surroundings,” he said. “I couldn't see outside the car because of all the fog.”
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Alijah said he passed out multiple times as he made attempts to get out of the car before two good Samaritans helped him out of the vehicle through a window.
The teenager said he doesn’t blame the car malfunctioning for the incident, adding that his first thought after waking up in the hospital was whether he had hit someone.
"Honestly, I take full responsibility for the crash, whether it was me, another car, a malfunction," he said. "I don't want to put anyone else in this situation, the people who made the car, anything like that. I take full responsibility."
Alijah came out of the medically induced coma in the aftermath of the crash, but remained intubated at the time.
Now that he's recovered, the basketball player signed to the Trojans earlier this month.
"In Family, @alijah0arenas! the five-star guard was a McDonald’s All American in 2025 ✌️," a joint caption on Instagram announcing the big news read.