Pavone Ex Rel. Pavone v. Merion

It is well settled law in North Carolina that a legal duty rests upon a motorist to exercise due care to avoid injuring children whom he sees, or by the exercise of reasonable care should see, on or near the highway. Hawkins v. Simpson, 237 N.C. 155, 74 S.E. 2d 331; Sparks v. Willis, 228 N.C. 25, 44 S.E. 2d 343; Moore v. Powell, 205 N.C. 636, 172 S.E. 327; Goss v. Williams, 196 N.C. 213, 145 S.E. 169.

A motorist must recognize that children, and particularly very young children, have less judgment and capacity to avoid danger than adults, that their excursions into a street may reasonably be…