49ers coach Kyle Shanahan admits fault in car crash

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — An emotional Kyle Shanahan admitted fault Tuesday for a July 14 crash in Palo Alto that left him battling a concussion and other injuries, which are keeping him from coaching as normal at the start of training camp.

Shanahan, with fresh scars above his right eye and fractured nose, met with reporters in his 49ers office and insisted on clearing up the confusion about the two-vehicle crash in which Palo Alto police cited neither driver.

“I took my eyes off the road looking for my phone and my car veered,” Shanahan told a group of seven reporters. “It was one of those roads where there’s no (median).”

Distraught over the incident and battling concussion symptoms, Shanahan felt compelled to come forward after reports Monday night, citing data from the California Crash Reporting System, incorrectly assigned blame to the other driver, a 21-year-old woman who was not seriously injured. Palo Alto police confirmed a clerical error in the database and said it would be rectified.

“It crushed me hearing the (other driver) got blamed for it and to hear people think people are hiding stuff for me,” said Shanahan, 46, who is entering his 10th season as the Niners’ coach.

Shanahan has resisted holding a formal press conference because of his emotional state, noting that he gets as stressed ordering lunch as he would planning the 49ers’ schedule for their season-opening game in Australia. He is also deeply concerned about protecting the identity of the other driver, who is similar in age to his oldest daughter.

He was driving his Tesla Model S when it slammed into a Mercedes SUV going opposite directions on Alma Street at approximately 6:13 p.m., after he had visited a chiropractor.

“I was driving 20 miles per hour, I was not on my phone, but I dropped my phone and it was stuck in my seats,” said Shanahan, motioning with his casted left hand how he reached for his phone while driving. “It was on my lap and it slid off. I went down to look for it and took my eyes off the road for two seconds, and as I was coming up, the airbag hit me in my face and broke my nose, and they said the visor really gashed me.”

He waited for his wife, Mandy, to arrive at the scene before being transported by ambulance to Stanford Hospital for nearly 10 hours of treatment, he said. His severe cut above his right eye required extensive surgery, and Shanahan showed reporters Tuesday a picture on his phone displaying those fresh wounds.

Although he and his wife shared news of his condition to a few close friends and about seven of the 49ers’ veteran leaders, the crash was not widespread public knowledge for more than a week until the 49ers released a statement Saturday at 9 a.m. just before a news conference opening training camp.

Lt. Nicolas Martinez of the Palo Alto Police Department, in a message to this news organization, stated: “I can confirm that Kyle Shanahan’s statement that he provided is correct and that he was found at fault for the collision. There was a clerical error in the preparation of the report that was transmitted to the State database. We are in the process of correcting that error.”

As for why neither Shanahan nor the other driver was cited, Martinez added: “It is the officer’s discretion at the scene of the collision as to whether they issue a citation to either party. It is not uncommon for officers to elect to not issue a citation to either party involved in a collision. Neither party in this situation was provided preferential treatment. If you review the department archives, you will see that it is our practice to only issue press releases for accidents that involve a fatality.”

Shanahan, however, took full responsibility, adding: “When I hit her, it’s actually just so… I’ll just never forget how violent it was.”

Shanahan holding and using his phone was in violation of California Vehicle Code 23123.5(a), which was found to be a factor in the crash. The code prohibits holding or using a cellphone while driving.

Steven Clark, a legal analyst and former Santa Clara County prosecutor, said police frequently elect not to cite drivers involved in crashes while on their phones, especially when officers do not directly observe a collision.

Clark added that police investigations finding fault in crashes are often advisory and used to resolve insurance claims, rather than to determine any possible civil or criminal liability.

Still, he said, “this is Exhibit A of why you don’t use a cell phone while you’re driving.”

Shanahan said he never experienced amnesia from the crash, adding: “I remember the wreck and I never got knocked out.”

His concussion symptoms include fatigue and an aversion to sunlight and sound, such as loud music at practice or even multiple voices in a room. Reviewing football film, his passion and expertise as a coach, is “the hardest thing, but that’s what I’ve been easing into.”

Shanahan looked to be healing remarkably well and noted that his plastic surgeon is “awesome.” He lifted his shirt to show bruises on his torso as well as his arm. His thick mustache is a look that has staying power.

“My friends are telling me that my mustache saved my life,” Shanahan said in a rare moment of levity. “I always grow it when I’m gone (in the offseason), but they always try to get me to keep it, and I shave it right before I get to (camp). They all tell me it’s what saved my life, so I always do the mustache.”

While offensive line coach Chris Foerster is assuming Shanahan’s overall supervisor role, coordinators Klay Kubiak (offense), Raheem Morris (defense), and Brant Boyer (special teams) are also leading staff-wide efforts under the structure Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have built over the past decade.

Lynch and 49ers vice president of communication Corry Rush attended Shanahan’s meeting with reporters, some of which was off the record as the coach explained his emotional state.

“I’m so much better. I know I’m going to be all right. I just get fatigued and can’t stay (at work) the hours,” Shanahan said. “My brain is still there. It’s just concussed. It’s getting there.”