A great tragedy, and it's impossible to say how much the pothole contributed to this. But I know what havoc potholes can wreak.
I have my fair share of potholes left behind by the recent frosts. As many as anywhere, possibly worse than some areas.
To do the Council some credit, they have a few days ago completely re-surfaced one of the worst offender roads on my commute. Not just a patch-up job, they stripped down the complete road surface and re-tarmaced. That should nail the problem. But it's just one road, among many. I don't know whether the re-surface was scheduled long before, or perhaps brought forward because of the appalling state of that road (it's the spine road of a big industrial estate, so commercially important). But at least it's one job done.