An 18-year-old basketball star has emerged from an induced coma after being injured when he lost control of his vehicle and slammed into a tree and fire hydrant in Los Angeles. Alijah Arenas was trapped in his burning Tesla Cybertruck after the 5am Thursday crash, NBC News reports, until unidentified passersby pulled him out. Arenas' family—which includes his father, Gilbert, a former NBA star—issued a statement Friday saying the teenager has shown "significant signs of progress" and thanking his rescuers. "In a powerful and emotional moment," the family said, "Alijah opened his eyes and was able to write on a piece of paper that he remembered the smoke and asked, 'Did anyone get hurt?'" The answer was no.
Arenas attends Chatsworth High School in Los Angeles, where he scored more than 3,000 points, per the Los Angeles Times. Nationally, he was a Top 10 prospect who plans to attend and play for the University of Southern California next year. Arenas suffered no broken bones in the crash and remains intubated, per CBS News. Placing someone suffering from smoke inhalation in a coma is a common step. His family credited the rescuers' "act of courage, along with Alijah's incredible will to survive."
"I remember hearing banging on the car window, but I couldn't see anything because the smoke was so thick. That's when I realized someone was inside," one rescuer was quoted as saying. "I tried to break the window, but it wouldn't give. Then I saw one of the windows was cracked just enough and we used everything we had to bend it and pull him out. The car was on fire. We just knew we had to get him out." (More car accident stories.)
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