49ers coach Kyle Shanahan admits fault in Palo Alto crash

SANTA CLARA – An emotional Kyle Shanahan met with reporters in his 49ers office Tuesday and admitted fault for a July 14 crash in Palo Alto that left him battling a concussion and other injuries, all of which are curtailing his coaching abilities at the start of training camp.

Shanahan, with fresh scars above his right eye and fractured nose, insisted on clearing up the confusion about the two-vehicle crash in which Palo Alto police cited neither driver. The other driver involved is an unidentified woman who emerged without serious physical injuries.

“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).”

Shanahan, clearly distraught over the incident and visibly battling concussion symptoms, felt compelled to come forward after reports Monday night cited a California crash database which assigned blame to the other driver, which allegedly happened because of a clerical error that Palo Alto police are rectifying, according to 49ers security director Jeremy Jones.

“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.

Shanahan remains deeply concerned about protecting the identity of the other driver, who is similar in age to his oldest daughter.

He was driving his Tesla when it slammed into what he believes was a BMW SUV on July 14 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 the first media access of training camp.

A subsequent statement from Palo Alto Police Lt. Nicolas Martinez read, in part: “There is no impairment suspected and both drivers remained on scene and were cooperative with the police. No one was cited for the collision. There will be no information released regarding the cause of the collision or who was at fault. Pursuant to state release of information law.”

Martinez did not immediately respond Monday to an interview request from this news organization seeking to corroborate the 49ers’ and Shanahan’s claim of a clerical error in the CHP’s crash database.

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

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 that Shanahan is praising in part to the structure he and general manager John Lynch have built here 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.”