Opinion
June 13, 1994
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (G. Aronin, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
In the late afternoon of May 29, 1986, the defendant Edward Robbins was driving a New York City Department of Sanitation truck on Cropsey Avenue in Brooklyn. Robbins made a left turn onto the left lane of Bay Parkway. Robbins began to move the truck into the right lane, but when he was halfway into the right lane he spotted a car parallel to the cab of his truck. Robbins turned the wheel of the truck to the left to avoid this car, and rear-ended the vehicle of the plaintiff Angelo Gambino, who was stopped at a red light.
It is well settled that a rear-end collision into an automobile stopped for a red light creates a prima facie case of liability with respect to the operator of the moving vehicle and imposes a duty of explanation on the operator of the moving vehicle (see, Edney v. Metropolitan Suburban Bus Auth., 178 A.D.2d 398; Benyarko v. Avis Rent A Car Sys., 162 A.D.2d 572). Here, the defendants failed to come forth with any defense of sudden or unavoidable circumstances which could have contributed to the happening of the accident and the jury could not have reached the verdict it did on any fair interpretation of the evidence (see, Nicastro v Park, 113 A.D.2d 129). Thus, the Supreme Court properly set aside the verdict in favor of the defendants (see, Pincus v. Cohen, 198 A.D.2d 405). Sullivan, J.P., Balletta, Joy and Friedmann, JJ., concur.