275 Mass. 485 | Mass. | 1931
This is an action of tort to recover for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff on March 16,
The plaintiff walked from his work to the corner of Fessenden Street and waited on the northeasterly corner of the sidewalk until the street car he desired to take came into view on the easterly track. Blue Hill Avenue is a main motor artery running north and south with a street car reservation through the center, the traffic on the easterly side being one way toward Boston and on the westerly side one way toward Mattapan; at the place of the accident Fessenden Street comes into Blue Hill Avenue from its easterly side with a paved crossing over the reservation. The white stop pole for northerly bound cars is located in the center of the reservation about thirty-five feet north of the northerly edge of the paved Fessenden Street crossing. Cars would stop with the front car sufficiently beyond the pole to allow the rear of a second car to clear the crossing.
It was agreed that Blue Hill Avenue at the place where ■the plaintiff was injured was laid out by the street commissioners of Boston under authority conferred by St.. 1894, c. 324. The commissioners reserved between the sidelines of the layout a special portion or space for the location of a street railway and the tracks of the defendant were lawfully laid and maintained within the limitations of the reservation. At certain places along Blue Hill Avenue there were breaks in the reservation, which constituted grade crossings for vehicular traffic and pedestrians. These breaks were not a part of the grant. It was also agreed that the plaintiff, while standing on the reservation where there was no cross walk or any intersection or break in the sidelines, was struck and injured.
When the street car came into the plaintiff’s view, he took advantage of the first break in motor traffic to cross to the reservation and stood between the outer rail of the northerly bound track and the edge of the reservation, near the
The rights of the plaintiff while in the space reserved for the defendant under St. 1894, c. 324, were those of a licensee, and he would be unable to recover for the injury unless he could upon an amended declaration prove wanton dr reckless misconduct on the part of the defendant. The evidence did not go far enough to establish such misconduct. The case is controlled by Crowell v. Boston Elevated Railway, 234 Mass. 393, Treen v. Boston Elevated Railway, 253 Mass. 605, Fernald v. Boston Elevated Railway, 260 Mass. 78, and LaBelle v. Boston Elevated Railway, 265 Mass. 482. Certain ordinances of the city of Boston and rules of the defendant relating to the operation of street cars were introduced in evidence. The one to the effect that on designated types- of cars certain doors must not be
Exceptions overruled.