Leister v. Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co.

Citations

• 217 Pa. 652
• 66 A. 866
• 1907 Pa. LEXIS 773

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Street railway companies — Obstruction of highway — Fright of horses.</p> <p>In an action against a street railway company to recover damages for personal injuries, the defendant was charged with negligence in failing to preserve a free and unobstructed passage along a highway on which were laid its tracks. The plaintiff was a young girl riding in a pony carriage at the invitation of the driver. At the point of the accident, the defendant was shifting the position of one of its tracks and one-half the road was obstructed, but the west half of the highway was untouched, leaving a space sufficient for two vehicles to pass, or drive abreast. By a coincidence a trolley car and a cart happened to be at this point at the same time, so that the space was temporarily filled. The driver of the carriage in which the plaintiff was riding permitted his horses, a team of spirited ponies, to get beyond his control, so that when he approached the point in question, he was unable to stop them; but instead of running into the car or cart, they turned aside and ran into the excavation, upsetting the carriage, and seriously injuring the plaintiff and the -driver. The accident occurred in broad daylight, and the approach to the place was slightly up grade for a distance of several hundred feet. The evidence disclosed no reason for the failure of the driver to observe the condition of the highway or to control his team. He testified that his horses were not frightened, and declared that they were not running away. Held, that it was error to submit the case to the jury.</p>