Driver Not Liable for Accident Caused by Unforeseeable Mechanical Failure

A claimant, injured when an automobile struck a tree which then fell onto their property, sued the driver for damages, alleging the driver's excessive speed caused the accident and subsequent damage. The Court of Cassation rejected the appeal, finding that the lower court correctly determined the driver was not at fault because the accident resulted from an unforeseeable and irresistible event—specifically, a sudden mechanical failure of the vehicle's steering mechanism—which broke the causal link between the driver's conduct and the resulting harm, thus exempting the driver from liability.