I can't see your wife being at fault. If she was in 1st gear to drive off then she must have been stationary so could not be reversing at the same time as the SUV.
Also she is almost perpendicular to the SUV and has reversed out of her spot adn is not reversing.
The SUV has reversed into her.

I think all insurance companies tell their customers to never admit fault at the scene of an accident. The Hubby of Mrs SUV was probably trying to intimidate your wife into admitting fault.

I drove in the US for the first time last year, scared the crap out of me. I thought the speed limit was usually 55 not 85. We had a Crysler 2.4l Turbo, what a joke, slowest thing I've ever driven handled like a russian tank. My diesel Renault Clio felt like a sports car when I got home. I couldn't see the point of the 'Super sized' SUVs I really couldn't.