Leaked internal emails reveal how team security coordinated with police to vet official collision reports before finally breaking their silence on the head coach’s high-impact accident.
The 49ers' 11-day silence after Kyle Shanahan's serious car crash raised an obvious question when the news finally became public.
Why did San Francisco wait?
Newly released records don't provide a complete answer, but they reveal an important part of the timeline: The Niners wanted to review the police report before releasing information about the crash to the media.
Shanahan was involved in a two-car collision in Palo Alto on July 14. San Francisco didn't publicly disclose the accident until July 25.
Records obtained by NBC Bay Area show the organization was in contact with Palo Alto police during the 11 days in between.
Two days after the crash, Niners security director Larry Day emailed a police administrative assistant requesting the collision report and information about the other vehicle. Police provided information about the vehicle but told Day the report wasn't yet complete.
Six days later ... Day followed up.
"We just wanted to review the report today before we release any information to the media," Day wrote.
Police notified the Niners on July 23 that the collision report was available.
The following day, Niners vice president of security Jeremy Jones texted a police lieutenant that he needed to give the department "a heads up on our media release."
San Francisco announced the crash the next morning.
The records don't establish that waiting for the completed police report was the sole reason San Francisco waited 11 days to disclose the accident. They do establish that the organization wanted to review it before going public.
The records also provide additional context surrounding another issue that emerged after the crash became public.
An entry in a California collision database initially indicated that the other driver was responsible for the accident. Shanahan later took responsibility, explaining that his phone had fallen and he took his eyes off the road while trying to retrieve it.
Palo Alto police confirmed Shanahan was at fault and said a clerical error caused the incorrect information to appear in the state database. Neither driver was cited.
The newly released communications show Jones also contacted police after the incorrect information surfaced. A lieutenant responded that the department had identified the problem and was correcting it.
Shanahan's recovery has progressed since the accident.
He began training camp on a limited basis while assistant head coach Chris Foerster and San Francisco's coordinators assumed additional responsibilities. Shanahan has since returned to the sideline during the preseason.
More than a month after the crash, the newly released records don't answer every question about why San Francisco waited 11 days to disclose it.
They do provide the clearest evidence yet of what was happening during that period.
