Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas speaking out about his son’s scary car accident back in April. And now he’s revealing exactly what happened to cause the fiery scene in the first place.
As we previously told you, Arenas’ son Alijah ran over a fire hydrant and crashed into a tree in a Los Angeles neighborhood back at the end of April. The scary video was captured by a neighbor which showed the Tesla Cybertruck he engulfed in flames while the fire hydrant spewed water around it. Alijah himself could be seen being removed from the car shirtless and shoeless before being rushed to the hospital.
As a health and safety protocol for smoke inhalation, they put the younger Arenas into a medically induced coma for about 24 hours before waking up and beginning his recovery journey.
Now, in a new interview on the “All the Smoke” podcast hosted by fellow former NBA stars Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes on Monday, the elder Arenas assured his listeners that his son was doing much better and healing day by day. In a surprising move, he also revealed the cause behind his son’s nearly fatal accident.
“The car malfunctioned on him. The steering wheel went limp and rammed right into a tree,” he said before revealing his son couldn’t break the window open to escape the car because it was bulletproof.
“People are like, ‘Oh, he fell asleep.’ I’m looking at him. He’s on the phone. He’s on the phone with 911, I’m trying to get that call, he was on the phone with them for 10 minutes. So I know he was, at least, in the car for 10 minutes,” Arenas explained.
He went on to suggest that parents ought to let them have a hammer in the car or something so that their kids can get break out if they need to.
“He said he was trying to kick the window in, but couldn’t,” the elder Arenas said.
Later, Arenas said he emphasized the importance of his son seeing all the well wishes and flowers sent his way while he was in his coma and said he was lucky to even be a witness to it all after what he went through.