That's what I watched for; the propwash of backing down starts about 9' in. No appreciable astern until about 36', about same time of colliding.
Whoever was at helm was not just drunk but asleep. Can't account for who manned engine order telegraph. Those are only signals, aren't like a gas pedal or brake, they don't operate throttles or backing gear. I expect someone ran to the bridge or called engine room and ordered a crashback.
What about the drivers on the roadway? Was everybody on their phone, how do you observe superstructure above eye level and think "oh, it'll be ok".