Court Opinion

ID: 9914229
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-12-29 20:08:59.713397+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:10:39.424384
License: Public Domain

J-A18028-23

                               2023 PA Super 282

 GEORGE OLAR, AN INDIVIDUAL              :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
                                         :        PENNSYLVANIA
                   Appellant             :
                                         :
                                         :
              v.                         :
                                         :
                                         :
 RONALD BENNETT                          :   No. 703 WDA 2022

             Appeal from the Judgment Entered May 20, 2022
    In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Civil Division at
                           No(s): GD-18-5590

 CAROL LUTZ, AN INDIVIDUAL               :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
                                         :        PENNSYLVANIA
                   Appellant             :
                                         :
                                         :
              v.                         :
                                         :
                                         :
 RONALD BENNETT, AN INDIVIDUAL           :   No. 704 WDA 2022

             Appeal from the Judgment Entered May 20, 2022
    In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Civil Division at
                           No(s): GD-18-5591

BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., LAZARUS, J., and KUNSELMAN, J.

OPINION BY LAZARUS, J.:                      FILED: December 29, 2023
J-A18028-23

       George Olar (Olar) and Carol Lutz (Lutz)1 (collectively Plaintiffs) filed

this appeal2 from the judgment, entered in favor of Defendant Ronald Bennett

(Bennett), after the trial court denied Plaintiffs’ motion for a new trial. Upon

review, we conclude the evidence presented in this automobile accident case

failed to establish a foundation for a sudden emergency instruction, and that

Plaintiffs were entitled to their requested instructions on a driver’s duty of

care. Finding prejudicial error, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

       On May 6, 2016, at approximately 11:30 p.m., Plaintiffs left a birthday

party at the Fraternal Order of Owl’s Nest 9051 (Owl’s Nest), located on Little

Deer Creek Valley Road in West Deer Township. They walked across Little

Deer Creek Valley Road to return to their vehicle, which was parked in the lot

across the road from the Owl’s Nest. Little Deer Creek Valley Road is a two-

lane roadway that runs north and south with a posted speed limit of 25 miles

per hour (mph). The area is lit with streetlights lining the northbound lane,

and ambient light from shops and business along the southbound lane,

including the light from the Owl’s Nest sign. Bennett, driving northbound on

____________________________________________

1 On July 25, 2023, this Court entered an order granting the motion to
substitute Howard K. Lutz, Executor of the Estate of Carol Ann Lutz, Deceased,
for Appellant Carol Lutz. See Order, 7/25/23.

2 The Plaintiffs’ cases were consolidated for trial.The appeals docketed at 703
WDA 2022 and 704 WDA 2022 were consolidated by this Court upon
stipulation of the parties. See Order, 1/27/23. This Court’s order provided
that the appeal at 703 WDA 2022 would be designated the lead appeal, and
all filings with this Court “shall be made at the lead docket number.” Id.

                                           -2-
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Little Deer Creek Valley Road, struck the Plaintiffs with his minivan as they

were crossing the road. Plaintiffs suffered serious injuries.

      At trial, Plaintiffs testified that they left the Owl’s Nest, looked in both

directions and, seeing no traffic, entered the southbound lane of Little Deer

Creek Valley Road and crossed the double yellow line. See N.T. Jury Trial,

3/1/22, at 267, 288-91, 313-14, 319, 323, 330, 334-35. In their depositions,

which were read into the record at trial, Plaintiffs testified that they were on

or near the berm of the road, at the entrance to the parking lot, when they

were hit. Id. at 318, 328, 331, 333, 335-36. Lutz had no recollection of the

accident, and Olar testified that he did not hear or see Bennett’s vehicle “until

the last second,” “until it got close enough to me,” when it was within about

one or two feet. Id. at 290, 292, 335, 339-40.

      Bennett testified that he was returning from work, driving northbound,

that he was very familiar with that particular stretch of Little Deer Creek Valley

Road, that he traveled it at least four to six times each month, that he knew

the Owl’s Nest was on left-hand side of the road, and that the parking lot was

on the right. Id. at 117-18. Bennett stated that, on the night of the accident,

he had a clear view for 400 feet in front of him, that he did not recall any

vehicles behind him or coming toward him in the southbound lane, that he

had his low-beam headlights on, that, if he thought he needed his high-beam

lights to see, he would have put them on, and that he did not see anyone as

he approached the crossing area between the Owl’s Nest and the parking lot.

Id. at 119, 121-23. Bennett testified that he knew the speed limit on that

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stretch of roadway was 25 mph and that, immediately after the accident, he

told a police officer that he estimated his speed at the time of the accident to

be “between 25 and 30” mph; he also testified in his deposition that he was

going “between 25 and 30” mph. Id. at 120. Bennett testified repeatedly

that he did not see the pedestrians until he hit them, id. at 125, 130, 138,

151, 155, and acknowledged that Olar was wearing a white shirt. Id. at 138.

      West Deer Township Police Officer Matthew Evan testified that he

responded to the accident in front of the Owl’s Nest on May 6, 2016, and that

he took photographs at the scene. Id. at 84. He testified that there are

streetlights overhanging the northbound lane of Little Deer Creek Valley Road,

and there were parking lot lights across from the Owl’s Nest, but that on the

night in question one of the parking lot lights, which faced the parking lot, was

not illuminated. Id. at 85-86. Officer Evan acknowledged that there was

lighting in the area where the collision occurred and just north of where the

accident occurred, and that there were no adverse weather conditions, but

that the road surface may have been wet. Id. at 87-88. Officer Evan also

stated that he was not aware of any obstructions “that would have prevented

[Bennett] from seeing any pedestrians that might have been in either lane[.]”

Id. at 94.   With respect to his police report, Officer Evan testified as follows:

      Q: On the evening of this collision, did you get a statement from
      Mr. Bennett regarding whether or not he saw anything, he saw
      the [Plaintiffs]?

      A: I do recall from reviewing my report [that] when I spoke with
      Mr. Bennett[,] he stated that he did not see them.

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       Q: And did you ask him why he did not see them?

       A: I do recall from reading my report that I did ask him that.

       Q: And do you recall what his response was?

       A: I think that he stated that he was not distracted, that it was
       probably in response to one of my questions, and that he just said,
       you know, with his lights and the way that the road was.

       Q: Did he ever give you a reason as to why he was unable to see
       them?

       A: I don’t believe so.

Id. at 94-95. Additionally, with respect to lighting, Officer Evan stated that,

to the best of his recollection, it was “very dark” in the area where the accident

occurred. Id. at 96. Finally, Officer Evan stated that Bennett consented to a

blood draw, which was completed and analyzed at the Allegheny County Crime

Lab. The results of the test were negative for alcohol or drugs. Id. at 109.

       Both Plaintiffs and Bennett provided expert testimony from accident

reconstructionists.     Plaintiffs’   expert,   Dan   Connolly,   testified   that   the

pedestrians would have been visible at a distance of over 299 feet, and that

when Plaintiffs entered the roadway, Bennett was approximately 185 feet from

the crossing area if he were traveling at 30 mph. Id. at 238, 248-49; 555-

56. Specifically, using the speed Bennett testified to, as well as the slowest

and fastest walking speeds for people over 60 years of age, id. at 186,3

Connolly reached a conclusion as to when the Plaintiffs could have been

perceived in the roadway:

____________________________________________

3 Both Plaintiffs were in their seventies at the time of the collision.

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      Q: So[,] I understand, then, all of those distances that you just
      testified to that you can perceive, react[,] and stop your vehicle
      are well within this 200-foot photograph that we're showing now?

      A: That’s correct.

      Q: And your distances were, depending on his speed, if it was 25
      or 30, he could stop his vehicle at 100 feet, 117 feet, 147 feet and
      at the outermost 160 feet?

      A: That’s correct.

Id. at 205. In his calculation, Connolly also considered “friction value,” noting

that there was some testimony that the roadway was wet, and some

testimony that the roadway was dry. Id. at 204. Connolly further testified

that the non-illuminated parking lot light, to which Officer Evan testified,

would not have made an appreciable difference in the lighting or visibility on

the roadway, as most of that light shines onto the parking lot area. Id. at

242-43, 249.

      Defense expert, Gregory Sullenberger, testified that if Bennett were

traveling at 30 mph, he would have been 182 feet from the crash site when

the Plaintiffs entered the roadway. Sullenberger agreed with Connolly that

Plaintiffs had walked 16 feet from the southbound fog line to the spot they

were hit, and that the total distance between the east and west fog line was

21 feet. Id. at 184. Both experts agreed that if Bennett were traveling at 25

mph, he would have been 154 feet away from the crash site when the Plaintiffs

entered the roadway. Id. at 190, 456. Sullenberger opined that Bennett was

traveling at 24.2 mph. Id. at 397-98. He also stated that, in his opinion, the

area of the accident was “dark.” Id. at 407-08. Sullenberger disagreed with

                                      -6-
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Connolly’s opinion as to when Plaintiffs would have been visible to Bennett

(185 feet); in Sullenberger’s opinion, Connolly’s analysis did not take into

account windshield tinting or “backlighting,” i.e., the fact that Bennett was

coming from a well-lit area to a lesser lit area.        Id. at 411-14.    In

Sullenberger’s opinion, Plaintiffs were 112 to 1824 feet from Bennett when

they entered the roadway and that the accident was “not avoidable.” Id. at

418, 452-53, 456, 498.              Sullenberger also acknowledged on cross-

examination that his calculations were based on a speed of 25 mph, and he

made no calculations using a 30-mph speed. Id. at 454.

       The sole eyewitness, Michael Fouse, testified that he lived in an

apartment building on Little Deer Creek Road, across from and south of the

Owl’s Nest. Id. at 255. He testified that he did not know the Plaintiffs. Id.

at 256. Fouse stated that on the night of the accident, he was outside,

standing on Little Deer Creek Road, looking north toward the Owl’s Nest. Id.

at 259. He further testified that he glanced over and saw Olar leave the Owl’s

Nest, that he was moving slowly, id. at 264, and when he looked back to the

roadway, he saw Olar get hit by Bennett’s vehicle. Id. at 262. Fouse testified

that he did not hear any horns, skidding sounds, or screeching of brakes. Id.

at 325-26.

____________________________________________

4 Sullenberger testified on direct examination that the range was 77 to 122

feet, but corrected his calculation on cross-examination, and on redirect, to
112 to 182 feet. See N.T. Jury Trial, at 418, 452-53, 456, 498.

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       At the conclusion of trial, the parties submitted points for charge. The

court refused to charge on Plaintiffs’ requested points 2,5 3,6 and 5,7 which

explained the legal duty of a motorist to keep a proper lookout ahead, to be

attentive, and to exercise ordinary care under the circumstances then

presenting. Over Plaintiffs’ objection, the court granted Bennett’s request for

a charge on the sudden emergency doctrine and denied Plaintiffs’ requested

points for charge.

       Following trial, the jury found Bennett was not negligent and returned a

verdict in his favor.      Plaintiffs filed timely post-trial motions, which were

____________________________________________

5 “A driver has a duty to maintain a proper lookout and to observe what is

occurring in front of his vehicle.” Plaintiffs’ Point for Charge #2.

6 “The duty to exercise ordinary care to keep a proper lookout involves not

only the duty to look when such looking would be effective, but also the duty
to see what an ordinarily prudent person, exercising ordinary care, would have
seen under the circumstances then and there existing.” Plaintiffs’ Point for
Charge #3.

7 “If a pedestrian, before being hit, has been on the highway for a long period

of time so that a careful driver could see him and avoid the accident, and if
the pedestrian is then hit, you may conclude that negligence has then been
established on the part of the driver. Whether or not that took place in this
case will, like all the other facts, be for you to determine. The operator of a
vehicle is under a duty to be attentive, to discover the presence of a pedestrian
in the highway ahead of him. He has an affirmative duty to observe
pedestrians in his field of vision and to take precautions not to injure them.
The Defendant’s failure to see a pedestrian in his field of vision just before
striking him is evidence of negligence.” Plaintiffs’ Point for Charge #5.

                                           -8-
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argued and denied on May 13, 2022. On May 17, 2022, judgment was entered

in favor of Bennett. This timely appeal followed.8

       Plaintiffs raise the following issues on appeal:

          1. Did the court err in refusing to instruct the jury on the duties
             of a driver to maintain a proper lookout ahead, to see what
             an ordinary prudent person would have seen under the
             circumstances, and [that] failing to see pedestrians in his
             field of vision until impact may be evidence of negligence?

          2. Did the court commit reversible error in instructing the jury
             to consider if Bennett was faced with a sudden emergency
             when there were no facts inferring a sudden, unexpected
             emergency existed at the time Bennett struck pedestrians
             Lutz and Olar?

Appellants’ Brief, at 4.

       Our standard of review regarding jury instructions is limited to
       determining whether the trial court committed a clear abuse of
       discretion or error of law[,] which controlled the outcome of the
       case. Error in a charge occurs when the charge as a whole is
       inadequate or not clear or has a tendency to mislead or confuse
       rather than clarify a material issue. Conversely, a jury instruction
       will be upheld if it accurately reflects the law and is sufficient to
       guide the jury in its deliberations.

       The proper test is not whether certain portions or isolated excerpts
       taken out of context appear erroneous. We look to the charge in
       its entirety, against the background of the evidence in the
       particular case, to determine whether or not error was committed
       and whether that error was prejudicial to the complaining party.

       In other words, there is no right to have any particular form of
       instruction given; it is enough that the charge clearly and
       accurately explains the relevant law.

____________________________________________

8 The trial judge filed an opinion on December 28, 2022.The court did not
order Plaintiffs to file a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) concise statement of errors
complained of on appeal.

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Pledger by Pledger v. Janssen Pharm., Inc., 198 A.3d 1126, 1146 (Pa.

Super. 2018). “[W]e are mindful that a trial court is bound to charge only on

that law for which there is some factual support in the record.” Levey v.

DeNardo, 725 A.2d 733, 735 (Pa. 1999) (citation omitted).

      The trial court denied Plaintiffs’ three requested points for charge, all of

which essentially state a driver’s duty to be attentive to what is occurring in

front of his vehicle. The court reasoned that, given Bennett’s testimony that

he did not see Plaintiffs until he was upon them, these jury charges “would be

more applicable during the day light.” Trial Court Opinion, 12/28/22, at 4

(unpaginated). We disagree with this reasoning. A driver’s duty of vigilance

and attentiveness is required just as much, if not more, at night than in

daylight.   “[I]t is not the function of the trial court in charging a jury to

advocate, but rather to explain the principles of law [that] are fairly raised

under the facts of a particular case so as to enable the jury to comprehend

the questions it must decide.” Lockhart v. List, 665 A.2d 1176, 1179 (Pa.

1995).

      We agree with Plaintiffs’ argument that the purpose of the proposed

instructions on a driver’s duty of care was to explain to the jury that a motorist

has a duty to be vigilant in watching the road ahead, and that striking

pedestrians in his field of vision, if the jury were to find they were in his field

of vision, is proof of negligence.    Viewing the evidence of record and the

charge as a whole, see N.T. Jury Trial, supra at 532-55, and acknowledging

that the court instructed generally on the concept of negligence and

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comparative negligence, as it related to both Plaintiffs and Bennett, id. at 532-

36, and assured clear distance, id. at 544, we find that the court’s failure to

instruct the jury on a driver’s duty of care precluded clarification of a material

issue in this case. See Pledger, supra; see also Graham, supra at 165

(whether pedestrian might have avoided harm had he been more attentive to

traffic bore only upon question of his contributory negligence, not upon what

standard should be applied in assessing motorist’s alleged failure to exercise

reasonable care).

      With respect to the charge on sudden emergency, the court reasoned

that since Bennett’s testimony “was the only evidence [of] what had

occurred[,] the [c]ourt thought it more appropriate to instruct the [j]ury with

respect to the sudden emergency doctrine as requested by [Bennett].” Trial

Court Opinion, supra at 4.    We disagree with this analysis as well.

      Pennsylvania tort law recognizes that sometimes injurious
      accidents are not caused by carelessness, but because events
      conspire to create a situation so urgent and unexpected that the
      person alleged to be blameworthy had little or no practical
      opportunity to avert the harm. When the evidence suggests that
      such “sudden emergencies” may have played a role in a case, the
      presiding judge may instruct a jury that, should it determine that
      such an emergency contributed to the accident, it should assess
      the defendant’s performance commensurately. But since the
      advent of the automobile, Pennsylvania law also has imposed a
      heightened standard of care upon drivers to exercise particular
      vigilance when it is reasonably foreseeable that a pedestrian will
      cross their path, particularly at intersections.

Graham v. Check, 243 A.3d 153, 157 (Pa. 2020).

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       Here, the court described the sudden emergency doctrine as a “defense”

for the driver, N.T. Jury Trial, supra at 544-45, which, in this context, is ill-

advised. Night driving is not an emergency. A driver has an obligation to

adjust his speed based upon road and weather conditions, including visual

obstructions, to ensure his ability to react to foreseeable events.         See

Lockhart, supra; see also 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3361 (“No person shall drive a

vehicle at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions

and having regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing, nor at a

speed greater than will permit the driver to bring his vehicle to a stop within

the assured clear distance ahead”); id. (“[E]very person shall drive at a safe

and appropriate speed . . . when special hazards exist with respect to

pedestrians or other traffic or by reason of weather or highway conditions.”).

Night driving is a form of visual obstruction, and here, particularly where

Bennett testified that he was familiar with the area, including the crossing

area for the Owl’s Nest parking lot, the court should not have instructed on

sudden emergency. See Cannon v. Tabor, 642 A.2d 1108, 1112 (Pa. Super.

1993) (at night, assured clear distance is scope of driver’s headlights).

       Our Supreme Court’s decision in Graham, supra, is instructive.9 There,

Graham was crossing Route 30 just before 6:00 a.m. on March 8, 2016, in the

Borough of East Pittsburgh, in a marked crosswalk.

____________________________________________

9 The trial court twice noted its disagreement with the decision in Graham.

See N.T. Jury Trial, supra at 473, 478-79.

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      Observing the signal for cross-traffic was red, and after confirming
      that oncoming traffic from the south was stopping for the signal,
      Graham, who was wearing dark clothing, began his crossing in the
      marked crosswalk at an ordinary rate of speed. As Graham
      crossed, Larry Check was approaching the intersection on Route
      30 from the north. From Graham’s perspective as he crossed the
      highway, Check was traveling in the farthest of four lanes, but
      Graham did not see him during the first part of his crossing.
      Another car, driven by Joseph Millach, waited southbound in the
      third lane for the signal to change. The signal turned green when
      Graham had reached or was somewhat past Route 30’s centerline,
      at least partially obscured from Check’s view by Millach’s car[,] as
      Check rolled toward the intersection on Millach’s right side. Check
      was slowing for the signal, but the light turned green before he
      stopped, and Check began to accelerate, passing Millach and
      entering the intersection at between fifteen and thirty miles-per-
      hour. On the far side of the intersection, in the fourth lane from
      the bus stop, Check struck Graham with his car. Check testified
      that he applied the brakes as quickly as he could upon seeing
      Graham, but that he first saw Graham at a distance of only seven
      to ten feet. Check was unsure whether he began braking before
      or just after he struck and severely injured Graham with the left-
      front portion of his car. Graham testified that he did not see
      Check's car until just before it struck him.

Id. at 158. Graham filed a negligence suit against Check and, over Graham’s

objection, the court instructed the jury on the sudden emergency doctrine as

follows:

      In this case, Check claims he is not liable for Graham’s harm
      because he faced a sudden emergency and responded reasonably
      according to the circumstances. In order to establish this defense,
      Check must prove to you all of the following:

      1. Check faced a sudden emergency requiring immediate
      responsive action.

      2. Check did not create the sudden emergency.

      3. Check’s response to the sudden emergency was reasonable
      under the circumstances.

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     4. Check must prove that defense by a preponderance of the
     evidence.

Id. at 159. The jury returned a verdict for the defense, and Graham appealed

to this Court, which found no error in the charge.         Our Supreme Court

reversed, explaining that

     [t]he sudden emergency doctrine . . . is available as a defense to
     a party who suddenly and unexpectedly finds him or herself
     confronted with a perilous situation which permits little or no
     opportunity to apprehend the situation and act accordingly. The
     sudden emergency doctrine is frequently employed in motor
     vehicle accident cases wherein a driver was confronted with a
     perilous situation requiring a quick response in order to avoid a
     collision. The rule provides[,] generally, that an individual will not
     be held to the “usual degree of care” or be required to exercise
     his or her “best judgment” when confronted with a sudden and
     unexpected position of peril created in whole or in part by
     someone other than the person claiming protection under the
     doctrine. The rule recognizes that a driver who, although driving
     in a prudent manner, is confronted with a sudden or unexpected
     event which leaves little or no time to apprehend a situation and
     act accordingly[,] should not be subject to liability simply because
     another perhaps more prudent cause of action was available.
     Rather, under such circumstances, a person is required to exhibit
     only an honest exercise of judgment. The purpose behind the rule
     is clear: a person confronted with a sudden and unforeseeable
     occurrence, because of the shortness of time in which to react,
     should not be held to the same standard of care as someone
     confronted with a foreseeable occurrence. It is important to
     recognize, however, that a person cannot avail himself of the
     protection of this doctrine if that person was himself driving
     carelessly or recklessly.

Id. at 159-60, citing Levey v. DeNardo, 725 A.2d 733, 735-36 (Pa. 1999)

(quoting Lockhart v. List, 665 A.2d 1176, 1180 (Pa. 1995)).           The Court

emphasized that the Graham case illustrated the “considerable tension

between granting a driver the sudden emergency instruction” and “the

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heightened vigilance that the law long has imposed upon drivers to remain

wary of pedestrians even at less traveled intersections, as well as the duty of

a driver not to drive at a speed that exceeds his ability to stop within the range

of his vision.” Graham, supra at 168-69.

      Clearly, driving at night requires more concentration and awareness

than driving in daylight, even absent adverse weather conditions.          In the

instant case, Bennett was familiar with the area; he was aware of the location

of the Owl’s Nest and the Owl’s Nest parking lot. Patrons of the Owl’s Nest

would foreseeably cross the street to the parking lot. Moreover, this is not a

“dart-out” case. There is no indication in the record that Plaintiffs, both in

their seventies, were running across the road or that they appeared two feet

in front of Bennett’s vehicle out of nowhere.      In fact, the only eyewitness

testified that he saw Olar moving slowly as he crossed the roadway. Here,

like in Graham, the only evidence of “suddenness” arose “from [Bennett’s]

failure to observe [Plaintiffs] until [they were] nearly upon him.” Graham,

supra at 169-70.

      Further, there was no obstruction in the roadway, no oncoming traffic

casting a glare upon Bennett’s vehicle, no vehicles behind him, and no adverse

weather conditions. The area had no topographic anomalies, such as S-curves

or a hill crest that would obstruct a driver’s view; it was a straightaway lit by

streetlights and business signs. Moreover, Bennett testified he had his low-

beam headlights on, which shine 125 to 150 feet in front, and both experts

agreed that if Bennett were traveling at 25 mph, he would have been 154 feet

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away from the crash site when the Plaintiffs entered the roadway.             Even

granting the defense expert’s opinion that, at Bennett’s distance and speed,

Bennett would have had very little time to react, “that does not necessarily

establish a sudden emergency in the narrow fashion in which we have

employed that term to describe only unforeseeable events.” Id. at 170.

      [O]n a question of negligence, it is immaterial that the defendant
      only saw the [pedestrian] at or about the time of impact. The test
      is whether . . . he should have seen the [pedestrian] before the
      impact. This speaks also to speed itself, inasmuch as drivers’
      ordinary duty requires that they proceed only at a speed that
      enables an effective response to foreseeable incursions into their
      paths. . . . To suggest that twenty-five miles-per-hour is not high
      speed begs the question; speed is relative, and any speed that
      outstrips the driver’s ability to respond to foreseeable events is
      “high” as a matter of settled law.

Id. (quotations and citation omitted). See also Forsythe v. Wohlfarth, 209

A.2d 868, 870-71 (Pa. Super. 1965).

      Based on our review of the record in this case, the evidence presented

does not support a determination that Bennett was “confronted with a sudden

and unforeseeable occurrence[.]” See Graham, supra; see also Lockhart,

supra at 1180 (purpose behind sudden emergency doctrine is that driver

confronted with sudden and unforeseeable occurrence, because of shortness

of time in which to react, should not be held to same standard of care as

someone confronted with foreseeable occurrence); Schofield v. Druschel,

59 A.2d 919, 922 (Pa. 1948) (having one’s car under control means that in

any situation reasonably likely to arise, driver will be able to stop his car before

doing injury to person or property). As Bennett testified, he does not know

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why he did not see Plaintiffs in the roadway until impact.           Under these

circumstances, a driver’s inexplicable failure to see pedestrians crossing the

road is not a sudden emergency. Like in Graham, it might not be negligence

under the circumstances that Bennett did not see Plaintiffs sooner, “but that

does not make the situation a sudden emergency, only an unfortunate one.”

Graham, supra at 170.

      We conclude, therefore, that the trial court committed reversible error

in failing to instruct the jury on a driver’s duty of care and in charging the jury

on sudden emergency. See Pledger, supra (error in charge occurs when

charge as whole is inadequate or not clear or has tendency to mislead or

confuse rather than clarify material issue).       Accordingly, we reverse and

remand for a new trial.

      Judgment reversed; case remanded for new trial.                 Jurisdiction

relinquished.

 12/29/2023

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