Im inclined to think the pole wasn't part of a staging. Merely the thing that stopped the car which was slowing down anyway.
Perhaps the contraption intended to blow up the gas tank too, which might give a better cover story as an accident. But this didn't happen.
Whoever botched this job may not be long for this world himself.
"Contraption." My thought, too.
The idea of Molotov cocktail thrown from another car makes no sense. How do you throw one inside a moving car, especially with the windows up (as I presume they were)?
Somebody would have had to waylay the lady, render her unconscious, douse her and the car with gasoline or some other accelerant, then rig it with some kind of device.
Then, and only then, move the car to this particular stretch of highway, start it rolling, bail out and activate the device.
The process requires at least one confederate...and some preparation time. I wonder where and when the lady was last seen alive...
Yeah, right.
Maybe in the movies ...