Surratt v. Petrol, Inc.

— This is an action brought by the passengers in a stolen automobile for injuries they sustained when the automobile crashed. The background may be briefly stated as follows: On October 29, 1968, during the morning an employee of Petrol, Inc. parked a company car on the street across from the Petrol gas station. The employee left the keys in the ignition, and around 11:00 a.m. one Raymond English stole the automobile. No one saw English leave with the auto, but shortly after 11:00 a.m. an employee of Petrol discovered the car was missing and reported the theft to the police.

After taking the…