Granger v. Lovely

LUMMUS, Justice. The plaintiff was riding at the right side of the defendant in an automobile operated by him on the evening of January 13, 1934. Earlier in the evening a coat had been stolen from the automobile, and that disturbed the plaintiff. After notifying the police, they crossed the West Boston bridge from Boston to Cambridge and turned to the right to go to the underpass. After making the turn, a short straight piece of road leads to the underpass, which runs at right angles to the bridge, and is divided by the supports of the bridge into two narrow lanes. The plaintiff testified that it was raining hard, that the windshield wiper in front of the defendant was not working properly and had to be worked by hand, that after making the turn and reaching a point about thirty feet from the supports of the bridge at the underpass the speed was about twenty-five miles an hour, and that at that point the defendant said, 'I have some candy, maybe that will cheer you up,' and turned his head, right arm and body to the right towards her while he reached with his right hand in the back of the seat behind and above them. She testified that while he was doing that and looking at her, for 'less than a second,' the automobile struck the supports of the bridge in the middle of the underpass, and she was severely hurt. Upon this evidence, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff for $2,500. Under leave reserved (G.L.[Ter.Ed.] c. 231, § 120) the Judge entered a verdict for the defendant, subject to the plaintiff's exception.