But shifting the blame wholly onto the driver is also not reasonable.

Of course, safety measures should have been put in place. The problem is that the family seems to be putting blame on everyone else, and that's also not reasonable.

The city of Hickory bears most of the blame, of course.

Yes, but...

"The barricades were removed after being vandalized and were missing at the time of Paxson’s wreck." (source)

Really awful circumstances. If the vandals were caught, I'd have them face an involuntary manslaughter charge.

EDIT: Also, this particular bridge was on a private road that had no "ownership". It actually was NOT the city's responsibility and the developer of that road apparently dissolved... this just keeps getting worse and worse for the family.

But the fact that Google does not pay attention when users notify them about dangerous road conditions in their maps is a serious problem, and deserves some responsibility. They can’t say “we didn’t know” when they actively, aggressively choose not to listen.

Having mapped for Google for years, that's just how it is. Missing roads, incorrect routes, addresses that don't exist, closures that aren't reflected on the map... all normal stuff for every digital mapping service.

The reality is, Google does not bear any responsibility for what happens during the use of the product. No navigation app/company does. It's always in their TOS.

The very nature of maps is that they are ever-changing, and never 100% accurate.