The 49ers’ successful effort to keep the Kyle Shanahan car accident under wraps until the day the team reported to training camp served only to make people wonder why it was so important to treat the situation with extreme secrecy. Which has caused some to wonder whether there’s more to the story.
Here’s something more to the story, as found by Grant Cohn of SI.com.
Citing and linking to a public, governmental website, Cohn reports that Shanahan was holding and using a cellphone at the time of the accident.
Via Cohn, the website indicates that Shanahan was in violation of California Vehicle Code 23123.5(a), which prohibits holding and operating a cell phone while driving. Shanahan was not cited, however.
The other driver, per Cohn, was deemed to be at fault because she swerved into Shanahan’s lane and caused a head-on collision. Airbags in both cars were deployed.
The initial ESPN report, posted minutes after the 49ers presumably authorized the release of the information, indicates that the other driver suffered no injuries. Shanahan, in contrast, sustained a broken nose, a broken hand, broken ribs, and a severe concussion. He also needed 40 stitches to close the lacerations in his face. (On Monday’s PFT Live, Chris Simms said Shanahan nearly lost his right eye.)
The fact that Cohn was able to find this information underscores the reality that the local media, consciously or not, ignored the story until it was reported. Most news organizations have employees who actively monitor all public reports and databases for incidents involving public figures. Either the reporters whose media outlets cover the 49ers weren’t looking for the information or they found it but opted to say nothing or the information was withheld and/or slow-played by the public agencies.
Even now, it doesn’t seem that the entities who actively track all things 49ers are exploring the rabbit hole that was created by the 11-day lag between the occurrence of the collision on a public roadway and the coordinated disclosure of it.
Some of those folks have opted to direct frustration at those who have called the situation as they see it. Why not direct some of that attention to finding out exactly what happened? Like Cohn is doing.