Hennigs v. Centreville Township

In a personal injury action brought by plaintiffs, Ella Hennigs and her spouse, the circuit court of St. Clair County directed a verdict for defendants, Centreville Township and Louis T. Knauer, at the close of plaintiff's evidence. The Appellate Court, Fifth District, affirmed (Hennigs v. Centreville Township (1972), 8 Ill. App.3d 240), and we granted leave to appeal. The cause of action arose when Ella Hennigs tripped and fell over a pile of frozen gravel while walking along a township road at night. The gravel was in a publicly owned area, frequented by pedestrians and cyclists, between defendant Knauer's front property line and the paved road surface. Plaintiffs alleged the highway commissioner of Centreville Township placed the gravel there in response to defendant Knauer's complaints about holes in the road in front of his property.