Armstrong v. Consolidated Traction Co.
Armstrong v. Consolidated Traction Co.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The question raised by this appeal is whether the case should have been withdrawn from the jury on the ground of contributory negligence. The plaintiff was injured at night while 'crossing Penn avenue at Seventh street in the city of Pittsburg. Cars were passing over the crossing every few seconds. There are two tracks on the avenue and two on Seventh street, and these tracks are connected by curves.and cars pass from the
From the plaintiff’s testimony it appears that the crossing was an exceptionally dangerous one; there were four tracks to watch, two straight ones and two that curved from the street. There was no safe place to stop until all the tracks had been crossed. He exercised due care before starting; the car standing on the avenue blocked the way of the car standing on Seventh street and was an assurance to him that the latter would not immediately start. He halted in the narrow space between the straight tracks in the middle of the avenue and saw that the car on Seventh street was still standing, and he was struck as he left the curved track. The weakness of his case is that between the time he looked at the Seventh street car and the time he was struck by it, it must have moved from a full stop sixty-five feet on a curve, and during this time he had only to glance in another direction and walk about twelve feet. It is highly improbable that his recollection was accurate as to all the facts detailed and that the accident happened in the way .described by him. It is not, however, impossible that it happened in this way, and the court would not have been justified in withdrawing the case from the jury on the ground that he stepped in front of a moving car which he either saw or should have seen. He was not proceeding heedlessly but with care, in a situation that was both dangerous and confusing. It has been repeatedly said
The judgment is affirmed.
Reference
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- Armstrong v. Consolidated Traction Company
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- Negligence — Street railways — Pedestrian—Grossing—Question for jury. Where the plaintiff’s story as to the happening of an accident is improbable but not impossible the court is not justified in withdrawing the case from the jury. Stopping before crossing the tracks of a railway is opposed to the idea of negligence and unless, notwithstanding the stop, the whole evidence shows negligence so clearly that no other inference can properly be drawn from it, the court cannot draw the inference as a conclusion of law, but must send the case to the jury. In an action against a street railway company to recover damages for personal injuries, it appeared that the plaintiff was injured at night at a-crossing which was an exceptionally dangerous one. There were four tracks to watch, two straight ones, and two that curved from another street. Cars were passing every few seconds. There was no safe place to stop until all the tracks had been crossed. Plaintiff exercised due care before starting. Plaintiff knew that there was a rule of the company that after a car had passed around the curve, and had come to a stand to receive or discharge passengers, the car following it should not enter on the curve. Plaintiff halted in the narrow space between the straight tracks, and saw that a car had stopped after passing the curve, and that a following car was standing ready to enter upon the curve. He attempted to proceed and was struck as he left the curved track. The car which struck him must have moved from a full stop sixty-five feet on the curve, and during this time plaintiff had only to glance in another direction and walk about twelve feet. Held, that the court could not say from the testimony that it was impossible for the accident to have happened under the circumstances stated and that the case was for the jury.