Dwojakowski v. Central Railroad
Dwojakowski v. Central Railroad
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff, desiring to take. a train of the defendant company, at its station at Greenville, for the purpose of going to Plainfield, approached the station on the side of the eastbound track. There was an overhead passageway provided for passengers desiring to cross over the tracks for the purpose of taking westbound trains. This, the plaintiff says, he failed to observe. The eastbound and westbound tracks were separated by a fence, in one portion of which there was a gate, put there for the purpose of transporting baggage from one side of the road to the other. The plaintiff’s story is that this gate was open, and that, supposing it was for the purpose of enabling passengers to pass through from one side of the tracks to the other, he attempted to cross by that way. He says that before crossing he looked to see if the road was clear, and, observing that a freight train was approaching, with several cars attached to it, he waited until it had passed, and then, seeing nothing else which threatened danger, stepped upon the track, and was immediately struck down by a caboose, which was running wild, and following the freight train. He excuses himself from having failed to observe the approach oh the caboose by sayng that his vision was obscured by the presence of a heavy fog, and by the smoke thrown out by the engine which had just passed him.
The rule to show cause should be made absolute.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.