His new Tesla dangerously malfunctioned, sending itself and him into a crash with intense fire and toxic smoke. The elite athlete has described to the LA Times how he survived the extreme danger for 10 minutes.

Arenas reached for his iPhone, intent on using his digital key to escape, only to find the Tesla app had locked him out. Panic started to set in.

“I tried to open the door,” Arenas said, “and the door isn’t opening.”

[…]

When he woke up, “I realized my whole right side had caught on fire,” he said.

But as he tore off his clothes and doused himself in water again, he heard a thud outside the car window. Sirens wailed in the distance. Just keep going, he told himself.

He kicked at the driver’s-side window with everything he had. Eventually, he spotted a crack.