USC recruit Alijah Arenas out of coma following car crash

Alijah Arenas is out of his medically induced coma, the USC recruit's family announced in a statement Friday, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

"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 said. However, he's still intubated.

Arenas, 18, reportedly struck a fire hydrant and a tree while driving a Tesla Cybertruck at 4:56 a.m. Thursday. The car caught fire, and his family's statement quotes one of the people who rescued him:

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. 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 son of former NBA player Gilbert Arenas was taken to the hospital, where he was placed in a medically induced coma due to smoke inhalation, sources told Sports Illustrated's Tarek Fattal. He didn't suffer any major bodily injuries.

After Arenas awoke, he recalled the smoke and, writing on a piece of paper, asked if anyone else was injured in the crash, per the statement.

The Cybertruck reportedly burst into flames after being removed to a towing yard.

Arenas was ESPN's 13th-highest-ranked high school recruit and the third-ranked shooting guard in the class of 2025. He is the first five-star recruit to commit to USC in the Eric Musselman era.