Wagner v. Lehigh Traction Co.
Wagner v. Lehigh Traction Co.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The plaintiffs in their statement of claim charged the defendant company with negligence in two respects; first, in run
He did not see the wagon until within twelve feet of it, and then immediately applied the brakes and reversed the motor. This is all that could be done at that time to avoid the accident, and nothing more was required of him.
Under these circumstances the court erred hi submitting the question to the jury to determine whether there had been negligence on the part of the motorman in running the car. The jury cannot be left to guess at or conjecture about what constitutes negligence. There must be evidence of the negligence' complained of or there are no facts to be submitted to the jury. The fourth and fifth points of the appellant should have been affirmed.
On the question of whether the company was negligent in maintaining its tracks over the bridge, there is much doubt. It is not clear whose duty it was to keep the bridge in repair. While the case was tried on the theory that the hole or opening in the bridge was the proximate cause of the accident, its exact location was not definitely fixed. The evidence on this question is of a negative and uncertain character. There was no testimony to show what rights and privileges the appellant secured from the township authorities at the time the railway was constructed, and it does not appear whose duty it was to keep the bridge in repair. Primarily, it is the duty of township authorities to maintain a bridge, being part of a public highway, in a safe condition for the use of the traveling public. Whether there is anything in this case which relieves the township from this primary duty, does not appear. The appellees in order to sustain this action must show that it was the duty of the appellant to maintain the bridge at the point where the accident occurred, in a safe condition. If on a trial of the case it appears that no such duty rested on the defendant com
Judgment reversed and a venire facias de novo awarded.
Reference
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- Wagner v. Lehigh Traction Company
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- Negligence—Street railways—Head on collision with wagon—Bridge— Evidence. In an action against a street railway company to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by a collision between a wagon in which plaintiff was riding and an electric car, it appeared that the accident occurred on a dark night on a bridge which was a part of the public highway. The car was well lighted and had a headlight which could be seen SSO feet from the place of the accident. The car was running six miles an hour. The wagon had caught in a crevice, and the motorman did not see it until within twelve feet of it. He immediately put on the brakes and stopped the car within six feet from the place where the wagon was struck. There was evidence that some of the persons on the wagon got off, started back and waved or halloed to the motorman to stop the car. The motorman testified that he was looking ahead with his hand on the brake and there was no evidence to contradict him. Held, that the evidence was insufficient in law to convict the defendant of negligence in the operation of the car. Negligence—Street railways—Bridge—Township—Defect in bridge. In an action against a street railway company to recover damages for personal injuries sustained in a collision between a wagon and an electric car on a bridge, where the evidence shows that the accident was due to a defect in'the bridge, the burden is on the plaintiff affirmatively to show that the defendant, and not the township authorities, was responsible for keeping the bridge in repair. Negligence—Evidence—Conjecture of jury. A jury cannot be left to guess at or conjecture about what constitutes negligence. There must be evidence of the negligence complained of or there are no facts to be submitted to the jury.