Alijah Arenas, a former Chatsworth High School basketball star, the son of former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas and who is considered one of the nation’s top prospects as a USC recruit, remains in the hospital Friday after he was severely injured after a single-vehicle crash in Winnetka.
Firefighters and paramedics were dispatched around 4:56 a.m. Thursday to the 7900 block of Corbin Avenue regarding a vehicle that had crashed into a tree and a fire hydrant, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Arenas was already out of the vehicle when fire crews arrived. He was taken to a hospital in serious condition, the LAFD’s Margaret Stewart told City News Service.
NBC 4 reported a law enforcement source said speed could have been a factor is the crash.
Photos from the celebrity site TMZ showed a geyser of water shooting into the air after the crash and the Tesla Cybertruck with severe front end damage.
Multiple media outlets — citing unnamed sources — have identified the driver of the Tesla Cybertruck as Alijah Arenas. ESPN, which broke the news, reported that Arenas had been placed in a medically induced coma.
USC posted a message online Thursday afternoon saying, “Our thoughts and prayers are with Alijah and his family following this morning’s accident. Please keep him, his teammates and friends and the entire Arenas family in your prayers.”
Alijah Arenas’ father, Gilbert Arenas, played basketball at Ulysses S. Grant High School in Valley Glen, where his number 25 was retired by the school. Gilbert Arenas played 11 years in the NBA and was a three time All-Star.