City of Wilmington v. Spencer

DUFFY, Justice:

The significant issue in this appeal is whether a municipality is immune from liability for a negligent act of its agent.

I

For present purposes, the facts are these:

Twelve-year-old Jacqueline Bennefield, her six-year-old sister, Aurelia, and eight other children were crossing Fourth Street in Wilmington, at its intersection with Poplar Street. They were going to school. The intersection is controlled by a traffic light. The two girls had waited until the “WALK” sign appeared for them and then began crossing within the pedestrian lane. They had looked both ways before starting to…