49ers' Kyle Shanahan takes blame for Palo Alto crash
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SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday he was at fault for a crash in Palo Alto that left him with a serious concussion. He acknowledged taking his eyes off the road to reach for a cellphone that had fallen before his vehicle struck an SUV.
According to the East Bay Times’ Cam Inman, Shanahan’s account shifts responsibility in the July 14 crash. An initial crash report mistakenly blamed the other driver, a 21-year-old woman, for the collision. She was not seriously injured.
The newspaper reported that a clerical error caused the state database to incorrectly list the woman as the at-fault driver. Shanahan said he was crushed that she had been wrongly blamed for a crash she did not cause.
Shanahan describes moments before collision
What they're saying:
"I took my eyes off the road looking for my phone and my car veered," Shanahan said. "It was one of those roads where there’s no (median)."
The crash happened at about 6:13 p.m. on Alma Street when Shanahan’s Tesla Model S collided with a Mercedes SUV.
"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," Shanahan said. "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."
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Palo Alto police Lt. Nicholas Martinez confirmed Shanahan’s version of the crash was correct and that a mistake in a report transmitted to a state database incorrectly blamed the crash on the other driver.
"I can confirm that Kyle Shanahan’s statement that he provided is correct and that he was found at fault for the collision," Martinez said in a statement. "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. 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."
Injuries
What we know:
Neither Shanahan nor the other driver were cited.
He suffered a fractured nose, bruises and a concussion. He also had to undergo surgery for the cut above his right eye.
Shanahan has been unable to run the team or practice since training camp started on Saturday with assistant Chris Foerster in charge with assistance from coordinators Raheem Morris, Klay Kubiak and Brant Boyer.
Shanahan said he has made considerable progress and expects to make a full recovery. The 49ers have said that Shanahan is going through a similar protocol to the one used for players after a concussion and will resume coaching when he is recovered.
The Source: This story was writing based on reporting from the East Bay Times.