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WILLIAM KUMAH ET AL. v. LEO BROWN ET AL. (AC 32977)
Bishop, Lavine and Robinson, Js. Argued May 23--officially released July 26, 2011

(Appeal from Superior Court, judicial district of Fairfield, Hon. Richard P. Gilardi, judge trial referee.) Kathleen Eldergill, for the appellants (plaintiffs). Kate J. Boucher, with whom was Michael Kenny, for the appellees (named defendant et al.).

Opinion

BISHOP, J. In this negligence action, the plaintiffs, William Kumah (Kumah) and Keziah Kumah, appeal from the summary judgment of the trial court rendered in favor of the defendants Leo Brown and Swift Transportation Company, Inc.1 On appeal, the plaintiffs claim that the court improperly determined that, as a matter of law, the defendants' actions were not the proximate cause of the plaintiffs' injuries.2 We affirm the judgment of the trial court. The record reveals the following undisputed facts and procedural history. At 1:50 a.m. on September 3, 2006, Brown was operating a tractor trailer truck in a southerly direction on the Mianus River Bridge on Interstate 95 in Greenwich. He lost control of the tractor trailer, struck a Jersey barrier and bridge railing, and eventually came to a stop in the right and center lanes of Interstate 95. The impact caused approximately thirty-five gallons of diesel fuel to leak onto the highway. In addition to the state police, emergency vehicles from the Greenwich fire department, the Cos Cob volunteer fire police patrol (Cos Cob patrol) and the Connecticut department of environmental protection responded to the scene. Several rear-end collisions occurred in the ensuing traffic jam, and the emergency responders temporarily closed Interstate 95 while the Cos Cob patrol set up an emergency traffic pattern. The Cos Cob patrol parked its fire truck diagonally, with its lights illuminated, across the center and right lanes of Interstate 95 and also placed safety cones and flares along the approach diagonally to direct traffic into the left lane. Brown's truck also was removed from the traveled portion of the highway during this time. With the traffic pattern in place, the left lane was reopened while the emergency responders continued to clean up the diesel fuel spill. Subsequently, the traffic jam fully dispersed. Thereafter, at 4:10 a.m., Kumah, who was approaching the scene of the accident southbound in his automobile, skidded through the safety cones, rotated and collided with the parked fire truck and then the bridge railing, sustaining severe physical injuries as a result. Subsequently, the plaintiffs commenced this action against the defendants. In support of their claims, the plaintiffs alleged that Brown was negligent in his operation of the tractor trailer truck and that they suffered physical injuries and loss of spousal consortium as a result.3 On July 26, 2010, the defendants filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that, as a matter of law, Brown did not owe a duty of care to the plaintiffs and his actions were not a proximate cause of the plaintiffs' alleged injuries. The court granted the motion in an order on November 26, 2010, stating that ``as a matter of law, [Kumah's] collision with an emergency vehicle several hours after [Brown's] accident was not reasonably foreseeable nor was it the proximate cause of

[Kumah's] accident and injuries.'' This appeal followed. We begin with the well settled standards governing our review of a trial court's decision to grant a motion for summary judgment. ``Practice Book

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