Yellow Cab Co. V. Green

This case involves a "rear end" collision which took place on February 6, 1967, at the intersection of Osborn Road and 24th Street in Phoenix, Arizona. Appellant, Easton Earl Kelsey, was the driver of a cab owned by appellant, Yellow Cab Company of Phoenix, Inc., and the plaintiff below, Myrna L. Green, was the driver of the automobile rear ended by Kelsey. At the trial defendants Kelsey and Yellow Cab defended on the theory of a sudden brake failure. Defendant Yellow Cab's maintenance manager, called to testify on behalf of defendants, stated that the brake failure on the taxicab was found to have resulted from the sudden rupture of a flexible hose leading from the master brake cylinder to the left front wheel. He further testified that the failure which occurred was sudden and total, and could not have been gradual.