REPORT: 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan was Holding Cell Phone During Car Crash

He still wasn't at fault, according to public records.

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Finally, all the details of Kyle Shanahan's horrific car crash are starting to come out.

On July 25th, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Kyle Shanahan had gotten into a car accident on July 14 in Palo Alto, CA. He broke three ribs, his nose and his left hand, suffered a severe concussion and got 40 stitches on his face. But that wasn't the full story.

According to a public government website, Shanahan was holding and using a cell phone during the accident, which was a head-on collision, which means he may have been distracted. But he was not ruled to be at fault for the crash because the other driver, a 21-year-old woman, apparently swerved into his lane, not the other way around. Both drivers were wearing seat belts, and both of their airbags deployed, but only Shanahan suffered serious injuries, according to the report, which is odd.

The report on this website indicates that Shanahan violated Vehicle Code 23123.5(a), which says it's illegal to hold and operate a cell phone while driving. But the website also says that Shanahan wasn't cited for this violation, which also is odd.

Still, holding a cell phone while driving generally is a minor citation that comes with a $20 fine for first-time offenders. In California, you can get cited for holding a cell phone while driving even if you're stopped at a red light. You don't necessarily have to be distracted to get a ticket for this violation.

Since both parties made mistakes, it seems the police decided to punish neither driver.

This accident happened almost two weeks ago, and yet it wasn't reported until the 25th -- 11 days later -- because certain journalists who knew something happened to Shanahan decided not to investigate or report on it.

On Monday morning, Shanahan's best friend, Chris Simms, expressed his surprise on his television show that almost two weeks had passed before news broke of Shanahan's crash.

"I was sitting there every day after it happened going, 'Is the news going to break today?' I certainly looked at my wife a few times in the last 13 days, we looked at each other and said, 'This is pretty amazing it still hasn't come out.' But I think when you get down into it, this is where having goodwill, treating people the right way, being successful, being powerful as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, being a guy that everyone in the community likes and knows -- that's where Kyle is gifted and cool. His ability to talk to people, whether it's somebody really important or down the totem pole.

"I think between that and the goodwill that he has built up there in the San Francisco area, and the fact that these organizations are tied into the police departments around the facility. With all that, I was surprised that it took this long to come out. But at the same time, I understood it once I heard some of those details."

Simms makes it sound like the Palo Alto police department went easy on Shanahan and gave him a break because he's a successful coach who's powerful and happens to be nice to people. The public government website makes it sound like Shanahan didn't do anything egregiously wrong, even though he violated a vehicle code. He essentially was the victim in this, according to the state.

If Shanahan indeed was a victim, good for him and the 49ers for not throwing the 21-year-old woman under the bus to protect their reputations. Still, the team probably should have put out a statement sooner to avoid the appearance of covering something up.