I'm with Gumby and Bill on this
Looking at everything, I can't imagine that it could be a hoax or an accident that happened in the past. Why would people who Gumby knows corroborate something that didn't happen? With all the other shyte happening on a daily basis these days, no surprise a mere car accident didn't make headline news. If Tommy's well-intentioned query to the lady in Police Records was repeated with the correct date and location info, perhaps the result might come up... and... what about that white fire hydrant? Hmmm