Harris v. Day

Defendant, Gerald Day, appeals from a judgment entered on a jury verdict finding for plaintiff, Bruce Harris, and awarding damages of $16,000 in his suit for recovery of personal injuries. We affirm. On the afternoon of May 15, 1973, plaintiff, age 14, was playing tennis with a friend, Jay Allen, on tennis courts which were bordered on the north by Gregory Street, a four-lane road in Normal. Gregory carries east-west traffic and is divided by a three-foot median. During the match Allen hit a tennis ball over the fence and it landed on Gregory Street. Plaintiff went into the street to retrieve the ball and was struck on the hip and knee by defendant's auto which was eastbound on Gregory. Only the parties to this suit observed the event, and needless to say their testimony differs.