San Francisco, CA
Here’s what Kittle’s possible yearlong recovery from torn Achilles could look like: UCSF doctor
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The San Francisco 49ers are advancing to the NFC divisional, but without tight end George Kittle who suffered a torn Achilles during Sunday’s game against the Eagles.
The injury ended Kittle’s season. The recovery will be painful and extensive, something that, according to medical experts, could take anywhere between nine to 12 months before Kittle gets back on the field.
On the field, fans knew something was wrong, and medical experts watched and feared it was his Achilles.
“When you see that they slow-mo on his leg and you see his calf muscle go up and he grabs his leg and see him hit the ground – a lot of the time players know what that is,” said Dr. Nirav Pandya, UCSF Orthopedic surgeon.
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Dr. Pandya specializes in sports medicine. He broke down what Kittle’s medical team is gearing him up for.
“It’s a very painful surgery early on – you are basically going on your ankle, you are sewing these tendons together, immobilizing them, and then you are working through this period of getting that mobility back,” said Dr. Pandya.
According to Nature Review’s research, 30% of sports injuries are Achilles tendon injuries. Dr. Pandya said recovery could be impacted by techniques.
“There are some newer techniques that players like Aaron Rogers who got back in six months, and what is happening in these surgeries is that you are using stronger devices, you are allowing rehab a lot earlier. So, a lot of it will be based on what the surgeon does that he goes, and sees and sometimes you can push that timeline a little bit earlier but for players like him who plays tight end, and sometimes wide receiver, it may take longer because he is stressing that repair a lot more than let’s say a quarterback,” said Dr. Pandya.
Immediately after surgery, Dr. Pandya said patients like Kittle will be placed into physical therapy.
“They will be doing a lot of manual work early on to facilitate the recovering of the tissues and then loading him in the gym,” said Julian Cisneros, physical therapist and owner of Peak Physio.
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Cisneros treats these types of injuries and said it will be almost a year of PT and will happen in phases, with the first one being light resistance.
“It would be light resistance, just trying to go through a full range of motion nice and controlled, slow and steady, making sure his Achilles tolerate that,” said Cisneros.
“Standing under his own body weight on a flat-level surface and raising up those heels nice and high. This would be more load, and once he completes that, we would start elevating him so he can really lengthen that Achilles again and we will give him weights to hold,” said Cisneros. “And then we can start incorporating more plyometric movements with balancing here, and then we will get him on the track or on the field and going through sprints, jumping progressions.”
One of the last phases is to “start incorporating more plyometric movements with balancing,” said Cisneros.
Dr. Pandya is projecting Kittle could be back during the early part of next season, anywhere between September and October.
The good news is that Dr. Pandya says it is very unlikely after full recovery Kittle will re-injure his Achilles.
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San Francisco, CA
49ers Sign DL Gracen Halton to a Four-Year Deal
The San Francisco 49ers today announced they have signed DL Gracen Halton to a four-year deal. With the signing, the 49ers now have all eight of the team’s 2026 draft picks under contract.
Halton (6-3, 293) was the first of two fourth-round draft picks (107th overall) selected by the 49ers in this year’s draft out of Oklahoma. He appeared in 47 games (10 starts) over four seasons at Oklahoma (2022-25) and finished with 84 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two passes defensed. In 2025, he appeared in 13 games (seven starts) and tallied 33 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two passes defensed and one forced fumble (returned for a TD), earning Second-Team All-SEC honors. In 2024, he appeared in 13 games (three starts) and recorded 30 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks and two forced fumbles. In 2023, he appeared in 11 games and tallied 11 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. As a true freshman in 2022, Halton appeared in 10 games and recorded 10 tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss.
A 22-year-old native of San Diego, CA, Halton attended St. Augustine (San Diego, CA) High School.
San Francisco, CA
Multiple people lose eyes, hands in illegal fireworks-related injuries in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — San Francisco emergency departments and first responders experienced a sharp increase in serious injuries over the Fourth of July weekend, with illegal fireworks and electric scooter crashes contributing to some of the busiest days in recent years.
At Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, medical teams treated a wave of patients suffering severe trauma. In one incident, bystanders rushed to help a person who was bleeding heavily after a hand injury. A 911 dispatcher described the call as “Extreme Trauma. Hand injury.”
Dr. Christopher Colwell, chief of emergency medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, said surgeons worked to treat patients with devastating injuries.
“We are able to do a lot with and sometimes save the function of the hand and eye. Unfortunately, there are injuries that exist every year where we are not able to do that even with the expertise that we have,” Colwell said.
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According to Dr. Colwell, four people lost eyes, five lost hands and at least 15 people suffered serious injuries related to electric scooters over the weekend.
“We saw a lot of electric scooter accidents. And I think part of it was that their traffic was such that that was a more efficient way of getting around town. But we also learned very clearly that the combination of electric scooters and how fast you can go in San Francisco, particularly going downhill along with not wearing a helmet and adding alcohol on board, is a really bad combination,” Colwell said.
ABC7’s data team reviewed San Francisco EMT data and found that medical incidents on July 4 and July 5 were about double the number reported during the same period in 2025.
Lt. Mariano Elias of the San Francisco Fire Department said emergency crews handled significantly more calls than usual.
“We had almost 200 more calls than we normally have so we had roughly 576 calls in a 24-hour period,” Elias said.
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Illegal fireworks activity also sparked fires across the city. Firefighters responded to Telegraph Hill, where crews quickly contained a blaze.
“We did have two house fires that night on the 4th of July, due to fireworks activities,” Elias said.
City officials estimated that more than 100,000 people were in San Francisco to watch Fourth of July fireworks, creating traffic congestion that complicated ambulance response efforts.
“All the gridlock between, people coming and going from, the Golden Gate Bridge. The city was very impacted on the streets. So that was an issue. The one particular ambulance did, involve themselves in an accident. So, someone hit the ambulance. So that patient had to be transported and moved to a different ambulance,” Elias said.
First responders warned that illegal fireworks activity typically continues for days after the Fourth of July and urged the public not to take unnecessary risks.
Copyright © 2026 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.
San Francisco, CA
Terrified passengers film Waymo autonomous vehicle driving into live fireworks in San Francisco
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Passengers in a Waymo vehicle were terrified as the car drove into lit fireworks in the middle of a San Francisco street during Independence Day celebrations over the weekend.
Video footage of the incident shows a group of passengers who were shocked as the driverless car seemingly approaches lit fireworks in the middle of a street as the explosives are about to launch.
As the car gets closer, someone on the street appears to warn the vehicle to stop by waving their hand.
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Passengers in a Waymo vehicle were terrified as the autonomous car drove into lit fireworks in the middle of a San Francisco street during Independence Day celebrations. (Rose Peterson via Storyful)
“No, no, no, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go,” one of the passengers is heard saying off-camera.
The autonomous vehicle then passes over the colorful flames and sparks.
“Our Waymo just drove into a firework,” a passenger says in the clip.
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A Waymo vehicle sits idling at an intersection with no operating traffic lights due to power outages, in San Francisco, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Jeff Chiu/AP Photo)
“Are we on fire, dude?” a fellow passenger asks.
A Waymo spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the company “is committed to keeping our riders safe and earning the trust of the communities where we operate.”
“We take situations like this seriously and are committed to evaluating and learning from these events,” the statement continued.
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No injuries were reported to either the passengers or the vehicle, and the company reached out to the riders after their trip. The possession of fireworks, even “Safe and Sane” explosives, is illegal in San Francisco, the city’s fire department said.
One woman was killed and two other adults and a child were injured Saturday in a separate fireworks explosion, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Elsewhere in San Francisco, some Waymo vehicles were towed when their batteries died after vehicles became stuck in traffic for hours.
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“Our priority is keeping San Francisco moving safely, especially during major city celebrations,” the Waymo spokesperson said. “On the Fourth of July, extreme traffic congestion in northern San Francisco disrupted normal operations for several Waymo vehicles.”
“In coordination with local authorities and emergency services, our roadside assistance team worked quickly to clear our vehicles from the area,” the statement continued.
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