Kyle Shanahan walked away from a crash that left him with multiple broken bones, a concussion, and dozens of stitches. Now, newly released records are shedding light on another aspect of the incident, revealing that the San Francisco 49ers head coach was reportedly holding a cell phone when the crash occurred.

According to Sports Illustrated, via a public government website, the 49ers HC was holding and using a cell phone at the time of the crash, which would violate California’s hands-free driving law (Vehicle Code 23123.5(a)). According to the law, it’s illegal to hold and operate a cell phone while driving.

The crash took place on July 14 around 6 p.m. at the intersection of Alma Street and Hamilton Avenue in downtown Palo Alto, California. Kyle Shanahan was driving a black Tesla southbound on Alma Street when he collided head-on with a 21-year-old woman driving a blue Mercedes SUV northbound. Airbags were immediately deployed in both vehicles. While the lady suffered no major physical injury, the 49ers’ head coach was taken to a hospital.

According to reports, one of the drivers, possibly Shanahan, was “bleeding from the head” following the accident. Later, when he was taken to a local hospital by Palo Alto police officials, a detailed medical report came into public. To start, Shanahan suffered a severe concussion that initially knocked him unconscious. Then, he had over 40 stitches to repair deep lacerations across his face. Along with that, the 46-year-old also had a broken nose, three broken ribs, and a broken left hand. But who was exactly at fault?

According to the California Crash Reporting System state database, the other driver was at fault after making an unsafe turn into Kyle Shanahan’s lane.

However, since both drivers remained at the scene, fully cooperated with investigators, and showed no signs of impairment, neither driver was cited. The 49ers coach is on the mend, but his friend has revealed the magnitude of the injuries.

Kyle Shanahan’s friend reveals jarring details of the accident

Kyle Shanahan’s accident took place over two weeks ago, but came into the public’s notice on July 25th when Adam Schefter and many other established sources reported it. Now, as days pass by, new details of the incident continue to come into the spotlight. While the official medical report noted a concussion, stitches, broken ribs, hand, and nose, Shanahan’s friend Chris Simms reveals the severity of the cuts that required stitches.

“When you first see it, and it’s fresh, and some of the cuts are still wide open, I mean, it’s jarring, it’s jarring,” said Simms to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “He was this close to maybe losing his right eye, right? The scar is so big right here. So all that stuff was just crazy to see, and of course, I was thinking of my friend. But yeah, it’s tough. I don’t think he’d have any problem with me sharing this; it hit him hard. He was emotional about it because he realized how close it was to being just a complete, you know, utter disaster.

“Like, really, it was a disaster anyway. But you know, when you’re that part of that accident, like I said, he could have lost his right eye. It could have been a lot worse.”

Imagine a leather soccer ball or rugby ball splitting wide open, exposing the bladder inside, requiring heavy criss-cross stitching all along the seam to hold its shape. Kyle Shanahan’s damage may have been to the same extent, as it required 40 stitches on his face and could have also cost him one eye.

As things stand, Shanahan is recovering at home alongside his family, but he is already tracking team activities. He has made brief, limited appearances at the start of the San Francisco 49ers‘ training camp and was spotted wearing a cast on his left hand and heavy sunglasses to shield his eyes, observing drills from 30 yards away while holding a script.

In Shanahan’s absence until his recovery, assistant head coach Chris Foerster, along with the team’s offensive and defensive coordinators, have temporarily assumed daily head-coaching and practice duties.