If the aircraft is spinning so badly that one cannot reach the overhead engine levers (they are NOT throttles, guys) then one cannot control the helo, so all bets are off.
Having been the CP during a similar incident, I can assure you that overhead levers can be cut, quickly, by the CP. And if he waits for "permission" he is too dumb to be a CP.
If one cannot trust a CP to cut them, one should not have a CP
If one cannot lower the lever to reduce torque while at 1 foot height, and forget about the levers, one has forgotten how to fly, so it is already too late.
If one thinks that the engine lever location has anything to do with this accident, I have a nice bridge in New York to sell you, cheap, hardly used.