If there wasn't a video, I wonder if the story would have been reported at all. Local papers are pretty poor at reporting these days. They'll have asked to use the video, and then write a sentence or two without attending the scene. They may ask the police for info, but otherwise if they have no facts they'll just write something vague (as shown).
The mainstream media picked up on it because of the video.
Far too many stories in the local press are like this. There's a major accident and the story is pretty much one sentence long, and gives no detail at all. If you're lucky, there's a picture from someone who was there and was asked for permission to re-use with no payment, just a picture credit. As many people are happy to see their name in print, they say yes - which means publishers have axed their budgets for photography (and axed their photo journalists) and often you just get a stock photo of a police car or something.
(Sorry, was in rant mode there!)
