CHANG v. Youngsoo S. Lee, et al., Defendants-Respondents. (2008)

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Lucindo Suarez, J.), entered on or about November 15, 2007, which, insofar as appealed from, in an action for personal injuries sustained as a result of a three-car collision, granted the cross motion of defendants Youngsoo S. Lee and Alamo Financing, L.P. (Alamo) for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and all cross claims as against them, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

 It is undisputed that plaintiffs were in the front vehicle when the middle vehicle, owned by Alamo and operated by Lee, struck plaintiffs' vehicle in the rear after having been struck in the rear by the third car, driven by defendant Rodriguez.   In a chain-reaction collision, as here, responsibility presumptively rests with the rearmost driver, Rodriguez (see Mustafaj v. Driscoll, 5 A.D.3d 138, 773 N.Y.S.2d 26 [2004] ).   The police accident report includes a statement apparently made by defendant Rodriguez.   This statement, which is the sole support for plaintiffs' contention that they raised a triable issue as to Lee's negligence, is hearsay when offered against defendants Alamo and Lee by plaintiffs, and thus was insufficient to defeat the summary judgment motion (see Bates v. Yasin, 13 A.D.3d 474, 788 N.Y.S.2d 397 [2004];  Holliday v. Hudson Armored Car & Courier Serv., 301 A.D.2d 392, 396, 753 N.Y.S.2d 470 [2003], lv. dismissed in part and denied in part 100 N.Y.2d 636, 769 N.Y.S.2d 196, 801 N.E.2d 417 [2003] ).