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Karl-Anthony Towns says he was 'happy I was alive' after being hit by drunk driver

During his COVID-19 related absence, Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns revealed his 2020 was much worse than people realized. Towns — who has spoken at length about how much COVID-19 impacted his family last year — said he spent time in the hospital in 2020 after being hit by a drunk driver.

Towns addressed that incident for the first time Wednesday night, telling reporters he was "happy I was alive" following the crash. Towns talks about the crash around the 11:30 mark.

Towns' comments on the incident read:

"My girlfriend had a photoshoot. I was blessed to be at the time of the offseason where I could actually go and see her at work. I was two minutes from the shoot, on a cliff. Drunk driver comes drifting, fast as hell. It's two o'clock in the afternoon. It just happened. It was not a good wreck ... I survived. I'm happy I was alive."

Towns originally revealed the crash as part of an Instagram live Q&A in January. Towns missed most of the month due to COVID-19. He returned to action Wednesday, where he was asked about the crash for the first time. Towns said he spent time in the hospital following the incident and added he was more worried about the damage to his girlfriend's car than his injuries.

Karl-Anthony Towns was also in car crash in 2019

Towns was also involved in a car crash during the 2019 season. Towns missed the first two games of his career due to a concussion as a result of that crash. At the time, Towns — who was hit from behind by a semi-truck — said it could have been much worse.

Towns has also been open about how much COVID-19 impacted his family in 2020. Towns lost seven family members — including his mother — to the virus last year.

He missed 13 games while dealing with the virus in January. He returned to the court Wednesday, scoring 18 points in a 119-112 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

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