I would doubt both. If she was AFF, she would have a radio receiver in her helmet and they would guide her down. I also doubt it was static line. They said it was her own canopy, which means she shelled out 2,000+ dollars for it, so chances are good she had her A license. I would think she pulled the cord herself.
Well the journalist wrote this story as if this was her first jump ever, i understood that when they said it was her own chute, and she was not on a tandem. But your explanation sounds the most reasonable. Either way she fixated her eyes on an object she was trying to avoid and hit it. Good thing she was flying a parachute and not a hang glider with all that aluminum..........