Surely its,
"a cyclist and a car collided" <-- impartial , "a cyclist collided with a car" <-- not impartial , "a car collided with a cyclist" <-- not impartial..
I've noticed this in a number of reports, so perhaps it is the police, but that doesn't excuse it..
If it came from the police it would say " a cyclist and a car proceeded to a collision...."