Gilbert Arenas is calling it a miracle.
The former NBA All-Star got emotional on a recent episode of All the Smoke as he recounted the scary moment his son, Alijah Arenas, was trapped inside a burning Tesla Cybertruck following a crash in April.
“The car malfunctioned on him,” Arenas explained. “The steering wheel went limp and ran right into a tree.”
Alijah, 17, was driving home from the gym when the Cybertruck crashed into a fire hydrant and then a tree. The damage wasn’t just mechanical; it left the car in flames with Alijah trapped inside, unable to break the vehicle’s windows.
“He’s on the phone with 911…he was on the phone with them for 10 minutes. So I know he was at least in the car for 10 minutes,” Arenas said. “If you are a parent and your teen has this car, you might want to put a hammer in that joint, something that can break the window.”
Arenas noted that the Cybertruck’s reinforced windows made it nearly impossible for Alijah to escape. “He said he was trying to kick the window and he couldn’t,” he added.
It was bystanders who witnessed the accident and ultimately pulled the teen from the vehicle.
Although he didn’t suffer any major external injuries, Alijah was placed into a medically induced coma due to smoke inhalation. “It could’ve been worse,” Arenas admitted, “but when he got his personality back… our jokes came back. I told him, ‘Man, boy, you almost went extra crispy on me.’”
As the family pieced together the events of that morning, Arenas revealed the surreal feeling of watching the community rally around his son.
Now recovering and already back training for basketball, Alijah’s resilience seems to be matching his talent. “This is what’s supposed to make you great,” Arenas told his son. “You watched life that could’ve just ended. You can’t take this sh*t for granted.”
Arenas believes his son’s survival wasn’t just luck, it was alignment. The fire hydrant hit first, slowing the car before it reached the tree. The small window crack allowed smoke to escape and bystanders to grab hold.
“All those things aligned to save your life,” Arenas said. “And that was because of who you are.”
