Opinion by
Appellant operated a colliery at Mt. Carmel. The coal mined and prepared was placed in a building containing pockets from which it was loaded into trucks and wagons by means of chutes. The building was located about seventy-five (75) feet from the colliery. Appellant also provided, for the use of coal haulers, a road leading from the public highway over its prоperty to the chutes. Appellee’s son, a customer who purchased coal from defendant, took his truck, in December, 1924, to the colliery for a load of coal. As there was a heavy demand for coal that day, the trucks to be loaded were obliged to stay in line, a number being ahead of the one driven by appellee’s son. He waited some ten minutes, until his turn arrived; when he attempted to proceed, the starter of his car refused to work, and he stepped out on the side of the car nеarest the breaker toward the front to crank it. He had taken about two steps when he was struck on the head by a coupling hоok that had been used about appellant’s colliery, and fell to the ground unconscious.
For a long time defendant’s custom hаd been to have the slate pickers and other employees clean the floor of the colliery and throw the scrаp out of the window on the east side of the breaker, to a scrap-heap located immediately below the window and between the breaker and the road provided for the use of patrons. Boys were, at the time of the accident, cleaning the colliery floor in this manner. The window on the east side of the building was from 15. to 20 feet above the ground. Contending that defendant was negligent in disposing of its scrap, appellee instituted this action and recovered a judgment in the court below.
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Appellant argues there was not sufficient evidence to establish any negligence on the part of defendant, that it did not affirmatively appear that an employee of defendant threw the missile, or, by the exclusion of all other causes, that any of defendаnt’s employees were in a position to have caused the accident; in fact, that there was no positive testimony to show how the iron came to fall, whence it came, or that it did not come from some other part of the breaker: Laven v. Moore,
Appellant was engaged in the business of selling coal, and, to enlarge that business, it placed appliances on the land to encourage the sale of its commodity; the relation between a purchaser of coal and one who so uses his property is that of common interest and mutual advantage; the use of defendant’s land, in the way described, was offered as an inducement. The boy was, therefore, an invitee on the premises and where one is in lawful use of a private roаd as an invitee, the owner of the premises owes to him the duty of ordinary or reasonable care, under the circumstances, to keep the road safe from the negligent acts of his servants in the discharge of the owner’s affairs, so that such user would not be unnecessarily exposed to danger: Fortunato v. Shenango Limestone Co.,
Appellant asserts there was not sufficient evidence of thе act or causal connection to go to the jury. Proof of the act may be established by evidence from which, by
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reasonable inference, the conclusion is reached that defendant was negligent; or where evidence places the instrumеntality which caused the accident in the possession of the defendant, showing, by the elimination of all other causes, that the missilе could not have left defendant’s possession except through some act of its servant. The possible causes to be eliminated, as stated in Gallivan v. Wark Co.,
Here, no one actually saw the missile leave an employee’s hands, and no one can testify it did actually do so, but this is not strange. Such incidents frequently occur unwitnessed, but this fact does not protect one whose negligence can be shown from the circumstances to have been the efficient cause of the injury. When these circumstances appear, liability attaches: King v. Darlington Brick & Mining Co.,
There is no question but that appellee’s son was in the roadway some distance from the scrap-heap when he was struck. The piece of iron which struck him was seen in the breaker before the accident happened, and it was seen just a moment before in the hands of one of defendant’s servants. An employee, who at the moment looked out of one of the east windows, saw it passing through the air, falling and striking defendant on the head. It came from the second floor. The identical piece of iron having been traced to the hands of defendant’s employee in the breaker, who was performing a duty required of him by the company, clearing the breaker of rubbish, it was shown to be defеndant’s prop *393 erty. Though the act of throwing was not seen, it could be inferred, from the circumstances related, that an employee carelessly threw the iron too far. There were no other buildings or places from which it could descend, or to which it might hаve been transferred. It did not appear that any stranger was in the breaker who could have thrown it. Only employees of defendant were there. The time between its different situations and the actual passing in the air was so short, the inference was for the jury whether or not defendant’s servant threw it.
Judgment affirmed.