Hillebrecht v. Stein

Horney, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. Essentially, this case involves the same question of law with which we were concerned in Yellow Cab Co. v. Bonds, 245 Md. 86 , 225 A. 2d 41 (1966). The basic facts in the two cases are quite similar. Only the scene of the boulevard tragedy has been changed from one city to another.

The known actors are George Stein, the plaintiff-appellee, whose automobile was struck in the rear by the automobile of Fred Hillebrecht, the defendant-appellant, when Stein had to stop to avoid colliding with a red automobile that sped through the red light as he and Hillebrecht were approaching a green light at an intersection in Cumberland. ⁹⁵ The accident occurred shortly after midnight on a day in the latter part of June of 1964 at the intersection of Greene Street and Ridgely Road that was controlled by a traffic light which, at the time of the accident, was located near the sidewalk at the right side of the street or road. The intersection is located about one fourth of a mile from downtown Cumberland where Greene Street bears to the left in a wide sweeping curve toward Ridgely, West Virginia. According to the plaintiff, he was operating his automobile easterly on Greene Street at a speed of about ten to fifteen miles per hour as he was approaching the green light at the intersection. When he saw the red automobile intruding into the intersection from the left he swerved his vehicle to the right, applied his brakes slowly and reduced his speed, but before he had come to a complete stop his automobile was struck in the rear by the automobile of the defendant.

According to the defendant, he had parked his automobile prior to the accident on Greene Street heading eastward about one hundred and five feet from the intersection. When he returned to his vehicle, he got in, waited for the plaintiff to go by and then drove about two car lengths behind him at about fifteen to twenty miles per hour until the plaintiff, in order to avoid colliding with the red automobile, applied his brakes and came to an abrupt stop. Almost simultaneously, the defendant skidded one or two feet and struck the automobile of the plaintiff in the rear with his left fender and pushed the vehicle forward several feet. On cross-examination, when the defendant was asked why he did not swerve to the right, he replied that that would have put him out of the lane in which he was driving.

And when he was asked whether it would not have been better to have swerved into the right lane rather than collide with the vehicle in front of him, he stated that he did not think the plaintiff would have to stop. So far as the record shows, the only vehicles on the street and road were the three automobiles involved in the accident. The damage to the automobile of the defendant was slight but the damage to the automobile of the plaintiff (as well as the personal injuries he sustained) was extensive. At the close of the evidence, the motion of the defendant for ⁹⁶ a directed verdict was denied.

The jury, under the court’s