Opinion
July 7, 1955.
Appeal from Court of Claims.
Present — Bergan, J.P., Coon, Halpern, Imrie and Zeller, JJ.
On April 2, 1950, at about 4:30 o'clock in the morning, claimant MacGowan was driving his car in which the two decedents were passengers in a northerly direction on a State highway known as Route 9-W. Near the point where Jericho Road joins Route 9-W on the west, Route 9-W curves to MacGowan's right as he proceeded in a northerly direction. His car failed to negotiate the curve but continued in a substantially straight course, left the highway on the west side, and crashed into a concrete culvert head at the edge of Jericho Road. Route 9-W is approximately twenty-two feet in width, and had a broken white line painted in the center. The road was dry, and there was no other vehicle in the vicinity at the time. Claimants contend that the State was negligent in the maintenance of the highway for failure to indicate the curve by warning sign, by failure to illuminate the intersection, and failure to have guardrails, and urge that the physical situation present created an illusion that the road continued straight. To the south of the intersection there was a sign indicating the intersection. There had also been a curve sign which was in place two days before the accident. The day following this accident it was discovered that the curve sign at some time in the interval had been knocked down. There is no proof to charge the State with knowledge that this sign had been knocked down. It is not claimed that there was any defect in the surface of the highway itself. The Court of Claims has found that the curve was not a particularly sharp or dangerous one, and that in the exercise of ordinary care the direction of the road would not be mistaken and that the curve could be negotiated at a reasonable speed without difficulty, and held that the State was not negligent either in the construction or maintenance of the highway. We think the record sustains that conclusion. Judgments unanimously affirmed, without costs.