That truly sucks for your friend. But the phrasing isn't inaccurate, and the source of their trauma is probably that they were responsible for operating the mac

That truly sucks for your friend. But the phrasing isn't inaccurate, and the source of their trauma is probably that they were responsible for operating the machine that killed someone regardless of their intent or caution, and not the phrasing of around it. They are well aware that they, as a driver, killed someone. Traffic safety advocates have fought hard for reporters to avoid the passive voice, or using phrasing that avoids the involvement of the driver. Too many people were reported as 'having died in a traffic accident' or have been 'hit by a car'. It probably bothers the family and friends of dead pedestrians when reckless drivers are reported to have been in an 'accident', or that their car killed someone and not the driver.