Maybe they did, maybe they didn't
Look, I'm the last person who goes around defending the news. But if you are basing this on what "they say the police said," and if the police really did say that, then this is not "hearsay."
When a cop or PD spokesman makes a statement to anyone public, a reporter, anyone, this becomes what amounts to an official police statement.
so if the "noose" is simply reporting what an investigator said, this becomes a statement by an official, and is not supposed to be idle gossip.
And I have to tell you this. You need to look very carefully at what WAS said. MANY accidents happen with no immediate, apparrent cause. If something happened, my car got clipped, ran into my property, or injured me, I would be distressed if the cops DID NOT "investigate" drug and alcohol use.
