If it’s wrong then report what actually happened which is what a reporter is paid to do. Anybody can put something in quotes. A reporter’s job is to present information accurately.
What if the quote was “flying monkeys attacked the crew and disabled the ship”. “Eye witness caught the video of it on their phone but flying monkeys stole the phone”.
It should have been reported as a ship lost power and was swept into the deck of a bridge by the current. The masts were damaged by the deck of the bridge and 2 people were killed.