Hi John,
After the terrible experience of your wife and now this latest accident what if you put it to the local authorities (the decision maker/s) that they have been formally put on notice that a serious hazard exists due to the road design and depth of the ditch or gulley which massively increases the risk of serious injury in the event of a vehicle entering the ditch needing to swerve to avoid a child for instance. In that event the vehicle would be seriously damaged and the driver injured. Given they are put on notice that a hazard exists which they could mitigate but chose in the past not to then I suspect that if that type of accident happened they would then be individually and severally liable.

Not sure if the US followed the case law precedent set by the little old lady in Eastbourne in the UK in the 1920's who sued the borough Architect for approving plans for a house with foundations that were inadequate. She won the case and established in case law that one can be personally liable for decisions one makes in the pursuance of one's job (that is in addition to the employer being liable).

Very many countries around the world followed that case law and have now got an established track record of cases in their jurisdiction following that precedent. What that means for professionals around the world is we have to take special Professional Indemnity insurance to cover us personally in the event of a negligence claim being taken out against us personally for professional decisions taken at work. Our employer also needs it as well. If you have a friend or acquaintance who is a Civil Engineer in your State ask him about the liability situation for the local authority who fail to mitigate a known avoidable hazard. If that personal liability exists and the decision makers are made to realise the driver or their estate could end up suing them personally and them being personally bankrupted i.e. they could lose their house, savings and all assets as a result of their decision not to spend authority money to mitigate a known hazard, that may just focus their mind.
Regards,
Checkpoint Charlie