Moses v. Northwestern Pennsylvania Railway Co.
Moses v. Northwestern Pennsylvania Railway Co.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
There is a public highway extending in a southerly direction from Erie City, known as the “Edinboro Road.” Kearsarge is a hamlet located on this road about four miles south of the city. Defendant’s single track
On June 10,1914, plaintiff’s husband, Carl Moses, was driving a delivery wagon for the Perry Brewing Company, and about noon was going north from Kearsarge in a single wagon, and, as he turned to cross the track and enter this driveway, the front end of his wagon was struck by a northbound trolley car, under which he was thrown and fatally injured. He probably intended to drive to the orchard where a picnic was being held. The wagon was open, except a top over the seat. The track was straight, and, as he turned to cross it, he had an unobstructed view to the south for at least a quarter of a mile. The day was fair and there was no other person near the crossing and nothing to distract his attention from the approaching car, the sound of which was heard by persons about the farm buildings. The evidence tended to show that no gong was sounded or other warning given of the approach of the car. A young girl who saw the car said it was going pretty fast, and it ran eighty-seven feet after the collision. No witness was called who saw the accident.
At the conclusion of plaintiff’s evidence the trial judge granted a compulsory nonsuit, and this appeal is from an order discharging a rule to strike off the same. The able argument of appellant’s counsel has failed to satisfy us that error was thereby committed. In our opinion the deceased as matter of law was chargeable with contributory negligence. The rule is inflexible that one approach
The presumption that a man used due care is rebutted where the undisputed evidence shows that he drove in front of an approaching street car, which was in full view for thirteen hundred feet, at a right angle crossing of a single track, in the open country at noonday, and with apparently nothing to distract his attention, and was struck by the car as he drove upon the track. As the deceased approached the crossing the car was in full view; if he did not see it he was negligent, if he did see it and attempted to drive in front of the car he was equally so, for he who attempts to drive across the track when a car is approaching in dangerous proximity to the crossing assumes the risk of so doing. One may cross the
There is some evidence as above stated tending to show that the gong was not sounded, but it is not necessary here to decide whether or not it should have been for that crossing; for if the deceased looked he saw the car and needed no further warning, if he failed to look plaintiff cannot recover regardless of the other questions in the case. The top over the driver’s seat did not excuse his failure to look; and as the horse and wagon turned to the west he could have looked south and it was his duty to do’ so, even if he had to lean forward in his seat: Pieper v. Union Traction Co., 202 Pa. 100; Wheelahan v. Phila. Traction Co., 150 Pa. 187. This was a place requiring care on both sides and neither was bound to anticipate that the other would be negligent. The driver of the horse was not bound to assume that the car would approach the crossing at excessive and unlawful speed,
The order discharging the rule to take off the nonsuit is affirmed.
Reference
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- Moses v. Northwestern Pennsylvania Railway Company
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- Syllabus
- Negligence — Street railways — Team — Right angle collision— Team turning into drive—Evidence of speed—Contributory negligence. 1. The rule is inflexible that one approaching a street railway must look for an approaching car immediately before walking or driving on the track. 2. The law presumes that one. about to cross a railroad track performs his duty, but that presumption is rebutted where a man walks or drives upon the track and is immediately struck by a locomotive or car that was in full view when it became his duty to look. 3. An allegation of excessive speed of a car is not sustained by the statement of a witness that it was going pretty fast, or other like expression; or that the car ran eighty-seven feet after the accident. 4. - In an action against a street railway company to recover damages for the death of plaintiff’s husband, who was killed by. a trolley car while endeavoring to drive a team across defendant’s tracks, a compulsory nonsuit was properly entered where it appeared that just before deceased crossed the track he had a clear and unobstructed view for a quarter of a mile in the direction from which the car came, and had he looked in that direction he would have seen the car which struck him, but that he thoughtlessly committed himself to the act of crossing the track without any. effort to ascertain the movement of cars thereon.