Miller v. Cohen

Citations

• 173 Pa. 488
• 34 A. 219
• 1896 Pa. LEXIS 733

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Collision between horse and wagon in public park.</p> <p>In an action to recover damages for personal injuries it appeared that on the day of the accident, defendant, his son, a boy fifteen years of age, his daughter and her friend were riding northward on horseback on a road thirty-five feet wide in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. Plaintiff and a friend who was driving in a one horse buggy approached them from the opposite direction. Ahead of plaintiff and his friend, on the right hand or same side of the road about three feet from the gutter, was a two horse Germantown wagon being driven southward at a slow pace. As the driver of the buggy turned to the left to pass the wagon in front, the horseback party, four abreast, came up. There was space for all, but as they met, the width between the Germantown wagon and the nearest horse, on which defendant’s son was riding, seemed narrow for plaintiff’s buggy to pass, and defendant’s son at his father’s suggestion attempted to fall back behind the other three riders just as plaintiff’s driver pulled his horse again to the right to get in front of the Germantown wagon. This movement threw the hind wheel of the buggy towards the left of the roadbed. The horse on which defendant’s son was riding backed and, swerving a little, ca,me into collision with the left hind wheel of the buggy. The wheel broke, plaintiff’s horse took fright and ran away, and plaintiff was thrown out and severely injured. Held, that neither defendant nor defendant’s son was guilty of negligence, and that plaintiff was not entitled to recover.</p>