Karl-Anthony Towns says he's lucky to be alive following a vehicle crash last Thursday in Minneapolis as he was headed to the airport.
"I looked at our trainer Kurt, who I'm glad is safe as well," Towns said. "I didn't realize what he said until after, that he was saying 'The truck is not slowing down behind us.'"
The "truck" not slowing down was a semi-truck being driven by Michael Arndt, 51, of Janesville, Minnesota. The truck slammed into the back of the Hyundai Sante Fe that contained Towns and Timberwolves trainer Kurt Joseph, 29, who was driving.
Towns estimates the truck was going anywhere from 35 to 45 miles per hour. The 23-year old basketball star was evaluated at a hospital before he was cleared to fly to New York to meet up with the Timberwolves, who were facing the Knicks Friday night.
Towns said even though he knew he might not be able to play, he wanted to be with his team.
"Regardless of what was going to happen, I wanted to be there for my teammates. I'm not a guy to stay back and watch them work. I want to be there in person. I want to high-five them coming off the court."
Towns was put into concussion protocol, and he missed Friday night's game in New York as well as Saturday night's game in Milwaukee. But Towns is expected to play Monday night.
Towns, who has done public service announcements for seat-belts, was asked about what role his seat-belt played in the crash.
"If I didn't have that seat-belt (on), I'm going right through the windshield," Towns said. "Definitely one of the key things to why I survived was that seat-belt."
The Minnesota State Patrol says alcohol was not a factor in the crash, which is still under investigation.