San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed an interesting new wrinkle about the car crash in California that left him seriously injured.
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Shanahan, who has since resumed his coaching duties, told reporters on Saturday that he was using the autopilot feature on his Tesla Model S during the crash. The 49ers head coach said that he dropped his phone. He trusted autopilot to steer while he reached down to retrieve it.
Shanahan said he is unsure whether the autopilot feature malfunctioned or if he accidentally disengaged it while searching for his phone. Either way, Shanahan vows to be more attentive when driving in the future.
Kyle Shanahan Shoulders Blame for the Car Crash
"Anytime you cause an accident that can be avoided, you feel pretty stupid. Especially when you have a chance to hurt someone else," Shanahan 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."
Shanahan suffered a broken nose and hand, fractured ribs, and a facial laceration requiring 40 stitches in the collision. He also had a concussion and reportedly nearly lost an eye in the crash.
Despite the California Highway Patrol initially attributing the fault to the other driver, Shanahan noted that it was a "clerical error" before admitting he was to blame.
Palo Alto Police confirmed Shanahan's explanation in a statement released to ESPN.
"Kyle Shanahan's statement that he provided is correct and that he was found at fault for the collision," the statement read. "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."
Shanahan noted that he has had to ease into his coaching duties following the incident.
"I try not to come in here every single day because I feel like, if I did, I wouldn't be able to pull off my normal routine. Which is watching hours and hours of tape. And getting to walk through the night being able to watch stuff after that," Shanahan said, via ESPN. "Eventually I will get there."
Shanahan is entering his 10th season as the 49ers head coach.
