"Headed home soon": Alijah Arenas’ aunt Gloria Govan has 'plenty of reasons to smile' as she shares update on his recovery with never-seen-before pics

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Gilbert Arenas’ son, Alijah Arenas, gave his aunt "plenty of reasons to smile" with his recovery from Thursday morning’s car accident. Alijah was driving in LA when he reportedly lost control of his Cybertruck and ran into a fire hydrant before crashing into a tree. Arenas’ car caught on fire following the crash; luckily, he was rescued by some bystanders.

After being pulled out of his vehicle, Alijah was taken to the hospital, where he was placed in a medically induced coma due to smoke inhalation. Since then, Arenas has reportedly gained consciousness and is making significant progress in his recovery.

Happy that her nephew will be headed home soon, Alijah’s aunt Gloria Govan shared some never-before-seen pictures of him on Monday:

“Plenty of reasons to smile 😬🤗🙌,” Govan wrote. “Headed home soon…🙏.”
Gloria Govan shares never-before-seen pictures of Alijah Arenas
Gloria Govan shares never-before-seen pictures of Alijah Arenas

Gilber Arenas' co-host, Josiah Johnson, also shared an update on Alijah's health during Monday's episode of Gil's Arena.

"Elijah is doing better," Johnson said. "Walking, talking, progressing very well. Should be released from the hospital very soon. No major injuries as a result of the car accident, so just thankful."

Gilber Arenas hasn't appeared on his podcast since Alijah's accident.


"We had to get him out": Brave bystander on rescuing Alijah Arenas from his burning vehicle

One of the brave bystanders who pulled Arenas out of his vehicle gave an account of the accident:

"I remember hearing banging on the car window, but I couldn't see anything because the smoke was so thick."
"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."

If it wasn't for the bravery of Alijah Arenas' rescuers, things might've been a lot worse. Thankfully, Arenas is on the road to recovery and should be back on the basketball court soon. The 18-year-old will make his college basketball debut for the University of South Carolina this year.

Arenas made 97 varsity appearances in high school, recording 30.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.