Kyle Shanahan car crash: Revisiting offseason incident that almost cost 49ers head coach his eye

A new 49ers season begins Thursday night, as Kyle Shanahan enters his 10th year at the helm of the squad, still seeking the Super Bowl title that has narrowly evaded him.

Shanahan remains one of the NFL's most well-known coaches, a revolutionary offensive mind who has guided San Francisco to sustained success over the past decade, including five playoff trips and two Super Bowl appearances. This offseason, however, Shanahan was in the news for reasons unrelated to football.

In July, the 49ers head coach was involved in a serious car accident in California, leaving him with significant injuries. Shanahan has made a recovery and is back on the sidelines, however.

Here's what to know about Shanahan's car crash this past offseason.

MORE: What to know about Australia stadium hosting 49ers vs. Rams

Kyle Shanahan car crash

ESPN first reported on July 25 that earlier in the month, on July 14, Shanahan had been involved in a car crash near his northern California home that left him with a list of significant injuries, including a broken nose and over 40 stitches in his face.

On July 14 in Palo Alto, Shanahan's vehicle collided with an SUV, and paramedics took him to a local hospital afterward. ESPN reported that Shanahan recovered "well" afterward, leaving him limited in 49ers training camp before returning to the sidelines throughout August. Police said the other driver in the crash suffered no injuries, drugs and alcohol were not involved and that both drivers were cooperative with the police.

Police also later publicly confirmed that Shanahan caused the crash; the 49ers coach said he took his eyes off the road to retrieve a phone, resulting in him crossing into oncoming traffic. A mistake in a collision report indicated that the 21-year-old woman also involved in the incident was at fault, but Shanahan cleared the air on July 31.

"I hit her," Shanahan said, per ABC7. "I don't know why it was reported that way [on the collision report database]. The police report doesn't say that."

"I was not on my phone, but I dropped my phone and it was stuck in my seats. It's on my lap, and it slid off. And I went down to look for it and took my eyes off the road for two seconds. And as I was coming up, the airbags hit me in my face, and they broke my nose. And then they said the visor really gashed me. ... I took my eyes off the road looking for my phone, and my car veered into someone."

The crash happened around 6:12 p.m. local time that day near the intersection of Alma Street and Hamilton Avenue in Palo Alto, according to ABC7. Shanahan was returning to his home from a chiropractor appointment when the accident occurred. Officers reportedly told him he was not speeding, driving around 20 mph in a 25 mph zone.

In the aftermath of the crash, the fact that it went unreported for around 11 days also caused some confusion in the NFL world. It wasn't until nearly two weeks after Shanahan's crash that ESPN first reported it.

However, on Aug. 28, public records showed that two days after the crash, 49ers Security Director Larry Day emailed a police administrative assistant, per NBC Bay Area, requesting "the collision report and information about the other vehicle." A day later, he followed up, telling police that the 49ers "just wanted to review the report today before we release any information to the media."

What car does Kyle Shanahan drive?

Shanahan was driving a Tesla Model S at the time his car collided with an SUV in July. Shanahan also later said publicly that he was using the autopilot feature in the Tesla at the time of the accident, which he had been using for nine years and felt "pretty comfortable" with, per CBS.

"Anytime you cause an accident that can be avoided, you feel pretty stupid, especially when you have a chance to hurt someone else," he said. "Who knows what happened when I turned around, whether [autopilot] malfunctioned or whether I knocked it off I don't know yet. But regardless, it's always your fault. Whether you're on autopilot or not, you can't take your eyes off the road. It's a partnership, driving, you don't just turn it over to a computer."

According to NBC Bay Area, Palo Alto police said they released the crash report to the 49ers because the team owns the Tesla that Shanahan was driving, making them "parties to the crash."

Kyle Shanahan injuries

Shanahan's injuries included a broken nose, three broken ribs, a broken hand, a severe concussion and needing over 40 stitches in his face.

"He did break his nose, and some black eyes are getting better," 49ers general manager John Lynch said at the time, per ESPN. "He broke some ribs, that's painful, but that's not what's keeping him away. It's the concussion. And like I said, we'll continue to evaluate him, phase him back. And as he can tolerate things, we'll expand those. And that will clearly be dictated by the doctors and nothing else."

Shanhan also said that he was fortunate not to lose an eye in the accident.

"I'm just lucky that I survived, that [the other driver] didn't get hurt and that I didn't lose my eye,"  he said. 

Kyle Shanahan after accident

Shanahan, over the month following his car crash, has appeared in front of reporters and with the 49ers once again.

He's set to return to the sideline full-time for the 49ers' Week 1 matchup in Australia.

It's safe to say Kyle Shanahan still is getting used to Australia and being in the "future" 😂 pic.twitter.com/SwOTkue4fT

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan says that because the 49ers are “technically in the future” (it’s Monday in Australia), they don’t have to report injury updates until tomorrow (Tuesday in Australia). pic.twitter.com/yzKCzYSBzA

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