Case Name: DODD v. SECRETARY OF STATE
Court: Michigan Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Michigan
Decision Date: 1972-10-24
Citations: 43 Mich. App. 293
Docket Number: Docket No. 11457
Parties: DODD v SECRETARY OF STATE
Judges: Before: Fitzgerald, P. J., and McGregor and O’Hara, JJ.
Reporter: Michigan appeals reports; cases decided in the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Volume: 43
Pages: 293–296

Head Matter:
DODD v SECRETARY OF STATE
Opinion of the Court '
1. Automobiles — Negligence—Hit-and-Run—Inferences.
A reasonable inference of negligence of an automobile driver must be established from the facts presented by plaintiff in a hit-and-run automobile-pedestrian accident complaint.
2. Automobiles — Negligence—Hit-and-Run—Inferences.
Where plaintiff shows that he was struck at night in the sixth lane of a seven-lane highway across which he was walking by an unidentified hit-and-run driver traveling about 25 miles per hour, but the testimony fails to support a reasonable inference that the car’s headlights were not on, he has failed to establish a reasonable inference of negligence.
Dissent by O’Hara, J.
3. Automobiles — Negligence—Hit-and-Run—Affirmative Proof.
The law is not clear on the amount of affirmative proof needed to have the jury consider whether there is a reasonable inference of negligence on the part of an automobile driver in a hit-and-run automobile-pedestrian collision.
References for Points in Headnotes
[1-3] 7 Am Jur 2d, Automobiles and Highway Traffic § 336.
8 Am Jur 2d, Automobiles and Highway Traffic §§ 897, 905 et seq.
Appeal from Wayne, John M. Wise, J.
Submitted Division 2 April 10, 1972, at Detroit.
(Docket No. 11457.)
Decided October 24, 1972.
Leave to appeal granted, 389 Mich 763.
Complaint by Roy D. Dodd against the Secretary of State, the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund, and John Doe, for injuries sustained in a hit-and-run automobile accident. Directed verdict and judgment for defendant. Plaintiff appeals.
Affirmed.
Daniel A. Burress, for plaintiff.
Frank J. Kelley, Attorney General, Robert A. Derengoski, Solicitor General, Joseph B. Bilitzke, Assistant Attorney General, and Richard L. Wolk, Special Assistant Attorney General, for defendant Secretary of State.
Before: Fitzgerald, P. J., and McGregor and O’Hara, JJ.
Former Supreme Court Justice, sitting on the Court of Appeals by assignment pursuant to Const 1963, art 6 § 23 as amended in 1968.

Opinion:
Fitzgerald, P. J.
This case arises out of what was allegedly a hit-and-run automobile-pedestrian accident on January 12, 1967 on Grand River Avenue near Lesure Street in the City of Detroit. At the conclusion of the jury trial, the court granted defendant's motion for a directed verdict on the basis that there were not facts from which negligence of the driver could be reasonably inferred. Plaintiff's motion for a new trial was denied.
A complete statement of facts is set forth in Judge O'Hara's dissent, infra. The question on appeal is whether, under the view of the facts most favorable to the plaintiff, a question of fact as to the negligence of the automobile driver was established.
A review of the record reveals that it can only be said that plaintiff was hit at night by a car in the sixth lane of a seven-lane highway, and that the car was traveling about 25 mph. The testimony does not support a reasonable inference that the car's headlights were not on. Thus, the trial court properly granted the defendant's motion for a directed verdict. There was no error depriving plaintiff of a substantial right.
Affirmed.
McGregor, J., concurred.