259 N.W. 64 | Minn. | 1935
Lead Opinion
The action was brought to recover for personal injuries received while the plaintiff was a passenger on one of the cars of the Minneapolis Street Railway Company. The car was traveling in a northwesterly direction on Fourth street southeast approaching Central avenue in Minneapolis. At that intersection there was a stop-and-go semaphore in the middle of the street. About midway of the block next to Central avenue the bakery's truck, traveling in the same direction as the street car, passed it on its way to Central avenue, where at that time the semaphore indicated "go" for traffic coming from the direction of Fourth street southeast. There was an automobile parked on the right-hand side of Fourth street near the curb. The truck, of course, swung to the left of this car and thus did not leave room enough for the street car to pass it. At that moment the semaphore turned from "go" to "stop" and the truck stopped in obedience to the signal. The street car was then about 20 feet to the rear of the truck, and the motorman brought the street car to a sudden stop about five feet back of the rear of the truck. The plaintiff was then standing in the aisle preparing to leave the car at Central avenue, and the sudden stopping of the street car threw her violently against one of the seats. For the injury so received she brought this action. The jury acquitted the street railway company of any negligence and found a verdict against the bakery as the owner of the truck. The controlling question raised upon this appeal is whether there was any negligence *559
on the part of the driver of the bakery truck which was the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injuries. The bakery, which is the sole appellant here, relies largely upon Turnbloom v. Crichton,
The order of the trial court denying judgment notwithstanding the verdict is reversed and the case remanded with directions to enter judgment in favor of the defendant bakery.
Addendum
On motion for rehearing, respondent takes exception to the statement in the opinion that the bakery truck passed the street car "midway of the block." In writing the opinion we were under the impression from the oral argument that this was a short block. There is some evidence tending to show that the street car was but 40 feet from Central avenue when the truck passed it. This does not change our conclusion. The driver, in the exercise of ordinary care, had a right to expect the street car as well as other vehicles to be driven with regard to other traffic and in the expectation that the semaphore might change. There was abundant warning visible to the motorman that it was about to change. Other traffic including street cars must be driven in the expectation that, in response to semaphores, cars ahead may stop.
Rehearing denied.