49ers coach Kyle Shanahan admits causing Palo Alto crash after state database wrongly blamed other driver – The Mercury News

SANTA CLARA — Kyle Shanahan acknowledged Tuesday that he caused the July 14 crash in Palo Alto that left him with a concussion and other injuries, saying he took his eyes off the road to retrieve a dropped cellphone and veered into oncoming traffic.

Palo Alto police confirmed the 49ers coach was at fault and said a clerical error led a state database to wrongly blame the other driver, a 21-year-old woman who was not seriously injured.

“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.

Recovering from a concussion that has limited his work at the start of training camp, Shanahan met with seven reporters in his 49ers office Tuesday afternoon, bearing fresh scars above his right eye, a fractured nose and a cast on his left hand.

“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).”

Shanahan was driving his Tesla Model S on Alma Street at about 6:13 p.m. when he collided with a Mercedes SUV traveling in the opposite direction.

“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 to show how he reached for the phone. “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.”

Lt. Nicolas Martinez of the Palo Alto Police Department confirmed Shanahan’s account.

“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 message to this news organization. “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.”

Police identified Shanahan’s handling of the phone as a factor in the crash and listed California Vehicle Code section 23123.5(a), which prohibits drivers from holding and operating a cellphone.

Neither Shanahan nor the other driver was cited. Martinez said officers have discretion over whether to issue citations after crashes and that it is not uncommon for neither driver to receive one. He said Shanahan received no preferential treatment.

Martinez also said the department generally issues news releases only for crashes involving fatalities, explaining why it did not publicly announce the collision.

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

Clark said police findings of fault are often advisory and used to resolve insurance claims rather than determine 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 waited for his wife, Mandy, to arrive before an ambulance took him to Stanford Hospital, where he received treatment for nearly 10 hours, he said. A severe cut above his right eye required extensive surgery. He also suffered a fractured nose, bruises and a concussion.

Shanahan said he never lost consciousness or experienced amnesia.

“I remember the wreck and I never got knocked out,” he said.

Although Shanahan and his wife told a few close friends and about seven of the 49ers’ veteran leaders, the crash remained largely unknown publicly for more than a week. The 49ers disclosed his condition in a statement Saturday morning, shortly before a news conference marking the opening of training camp.

Reports based on the erroneous California Crash Reporting System entry surfaced Monday night, prompting Shanahan to address the crash Tuesday. He said he was particularly troubled that the reports blamed the woman, who is close in age to his oldest daughter.

“When I hit her, it’s actually just so… I’ll just never forget how violent it was,” Shanahan said.

His concussion symptoms include fatigue and sensitivity to sunlight and sound, including loud music at practice and multiple voices in a room. Reviewing football film, ordinarily a central part of his work, has been “the hardest thing, but that’s what I’ve been easing into.”

Offensive line coach Chris Foerster has assumed Shanahan’s overall supervisory duties. Coordinators Klay Kubiak on offense, Raheem Morris on defense and Brant Boyer on special teams are also helping lead the staff under the structure Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have built over the past decade.

Shanahan appeared Tuesday with a scar above his right eye and a cast on his left hand. He showed reporters a photograph of the wound and lifted his shirt to reveal bruises on his torso and arm.

His thick mustache also prompted a rare moment of levity.

“My friends are telling me that my mustache saved my life,” Shanahan said. “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.”

Despite his limited schedule, Shanahan said his condition is improving.

“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.”