Hanlon v. Philadelphia & West Chester Turnpike Road Co.

Citations

• 182 Pa. 115
• 40 W.N.C. 520
• 37 A. 943
• 1897 Pa. LEXIS 778

Syllabus

<p>Negligence— Turnpike company — Passenger railway — Frightening horses.</p> <p>In an action against a turnpike company to recover damages for personal injuries, it appeared that the company, in addition to operating the turnpike, operated a steam passenger railway on the turnpike road. At the time of the accident plaintiff was driving a wagonload of hay on the turnpike. The evidence for the plaintiff tended to show that his horses took fright at a dummy engine when it was about thirty or forty yards off; that the engineer of the dummy, after seeing that the horses were frightened, blew off three or four spurts of steam, as if to aggravate the fright of the horses, and that he laughed when he saw the plaintiff motion to him to stop the engine. It also appeared that the engine was run r’eversed. Held, (1) that there was sufficient evidence for the consideration of the jury on the question of defendant’s negligence; (2) that the question of whether running the engine reversed required a greater, degree of care than running it head front was a question for the jury; (8) that a verdict and judgment for plaintiff should be sustained.</p> <p>Street railways — Lease—Exemption from liability for accident.</p> <p>A turnpike company having authority to operate a passenger railway upon its road cannot, in the absence of legislative authority, exempt itself from liability for the negligent operation of the railway by making a lease with another company to operate the road.</p>