Lawrence v. Scranton City

Opinion by

MR. Justice Kephart,

Plaintiffs’ son, John Lawrence, aged fifteen, with his companions, was coasting on Clearview Street, Scran ton, on Christmas Eve. They gathered about a manhole in the street to await the arrival of another boy. While at the manhole, John struck a match on the iron cover to light a cigarette. An explosion of gas immediately followed, the boys were thrown in different directions, and the cover of the manhole was blown in the air, falling on John, so-injuring him that he died shortly after.

The presence of gas was accounted for through a leak in a gas main some…