WINNETKA, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Five-star men’s basketball prospect and USC commit Alijah Arenas is out of an induced coma a day after he was involved in a crash in the Winnetka area of Los Angeles, according to a family statement given to ESPN on Friday.
Arenas, 18, remains intubated, according to his family, but has “shown significant signs of progress within the last 24 hours.” The family said he remembered the smoke from the crash and wrote to ask, “Did anyone get hurt?”
Security video obtained by Eyewitness News captured the tail end of the fiery crash early Thursday morning. Another video shows the aftermath, with the fire hydrant gushing water into the sky.
USC commit Alijah Arenas has been placed in an induced coma after he was involved in a serious car crash in Winnetka, sources told ESPN.
No cause for the crash has been released as of Friday.
Bryant Sandoval was woken up by the crash and grabbed a fire extinguisher before sprinting over to help. He realized the driver couldn’t get out.
“I heard some banging coming from inside the car, so we knew someone was in there,” he said. “Tried putting out the fire, didn’t help. Tried smashing the back window on the driver’s side, couldn’t do it – couldn’t figure out how to open the door.
“Basically, just saw the driver’s side window slightly ajar, so just pulled that down and he stuck his hand out. We grabbed it, pulled him out and shortly afterward the fire department came.”
Those who pulled him from his burning Cybertruck told Eyewitness News that Arenas did manage to tell them he was alone in the car.
“It hit more when he stuck his arm out because he was still there, he was still with us,” Sandoval said. “At that point, there was nothing more important than taking him out.”
Sources told ESPN that initial tests showed he did not suffer broken bones.
Arenas is the son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas. He is the No. 13-ranked recruit in the class of 2025 after reclassifying in December and then committing to the Trojans in January.
He attends Chatsworth High School, and he played for them in the Division II state championships this year, making it all the way to the finals. With that game, he became the first high school boys basketball player in the Los Angeles area to reach 3,000 career points.
He was also one of 48 players selected to play in McDonald’s All-American Games in April, which showcases the best high school basketball players in the country.
His classmates told Eyewitness News they were shocked when they heard about the crash and are pulling for Alijah to pull through.
“When I saw the car on social media, I was just shocked,” said Samuel Bloomfield, who said he knows Alijah well as both their fathers went to high school together. “He’s like a brother to me, so I was just shocked. But we just keep praying for him.”
“He’s like the spirit of the school,” he added.
ESPN’s Shams Charania, Paolo Uggetti, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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