Colaruotolo v. Crowley
| Decision Date | 24 January 2002 |
| Citation | 290 A.D.2d 863,736 N.Y.S.2d 525 |
| Parties | TINA COLARUOTOLO, Appellant,<BR>v.<BR>SAMANTHA L. CROWLEY, Now Known as SAMANTHA DZIENISIEWICZ, Defendant, and ALLAN J. DAUS et al., Respondents. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Plaintiff, a bus passenger, alleges that she was injured when the bus collided with a car, operated by defendant Samantha L. Crowley, at the intersection of Arch Street and West Street in the Town of Green Island, Albany County. As Crowley was proceeding north on West Street, she was required to stop at the intersection of Arch Street by the presence of a stop sign and a flashing red light. The westerly progress of the bus was controlled at this intersection by the presence of a flashing yellow light. Crowley, when deposed, testified that she stopped at the intersection but that her vision to her right (east) was blocked by the presence of a sport utility vehicle, which was illegally parked by a fire hydrant close to the intersection. She further testified that she slowly proceeded into the intersection. After looking in both directions and seeing nothing, she continued through the intersection and was only made aware of the presence of the bus by an exclamation from her passenger.
Defendant Allan J. Daus, the bus driver, testified at his deposition that he had just discharged a passenger one block east of the intersection and was proceeding at approximately 15 miles per hour, with his foot on the brake, preparing to turn right on Cohoes Street (one block west of the scene of the accident), when he observed Crowley's car as it emerged from behind the sport utility vehicle. He further testified that at that moment the bus was approximately 15 feet from the intersection and that, despite his braking harder, he could not stop the bus before the left front bumper of the bus collided with the right front fender of the car in what both drivers described as a minor impact. As a result of the police investigation, Crowley was issued a ticket for violating Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1142 (a)—failure to yield the right-of-way—to which she ultimately pleaded guilty. Based on these facts, the owner of the bus, defendant Capital District Transportation Authority, and its subsidiaries (hereinafter collectively referred to as CDTA) and Daus successfully moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and all cross claims against them, and plaintiff appeals.
We affirm. Not only does the evidence submitted by CDTA and Daus establish that the sole proximate cause of the accident was Crowley's failure to yield the right-of-way (see, Matt v Tricil [N.Y.], 260 AD2d 811), but their submissions demonstrating nonnegligent conduct on the part of Daus are...
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...to anticipate that defendant “would comply with the Vehicle and Traffic Law and yield the right-of-way” ( Colaruotolo v. Crowley, 290 A.D.2d 863, 864, 736 N.Y.S.2d 525). It is hereby ORDERED that the order so appealed from is unanimously modified on the law by denying that part of the cross......