Rowe v. Western Maryland Railroad

Citations

• 224 Pa. 405
• 73 A. 456
• 1909 Pa. LEXIS 808

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Railroads—Grade crossing — “Stop, look and listen”— Death.</p> <p>1. The rule that one who goes on a railroad track immediately in front of a moving train which he saw or must have seen if he had looked, will be conclusively presumed to have been negligent is from its nature applicable only to clear cases, where neither the facts nor the inferences to be drawn from them are in doubt.</p> <p>2. In an action against a railroad company to recover damages for death of plaintiff's husband who was killed in a collision at a grade crossing, between freight cars running wild and the wagon in which he was riding, the case is for the jury where the evidence shows that the accident happened before sunrise on a damp and cloudy morning when it was so dark that objects could not be readily distinguished, and that the cars made only a low rumbling sound.</p> <p>3. Where cars are owned or under the exclusive care of a railroad company run with no one in charge of them over a public crossing at high speed, and an accident results at the crossing, the burden is on the company to show the exercise of due care. Whether such care was observed is a question for the jury.</p>