Harrison v. Williams

FOURT, Acting P. J.

This is an appeal from a judgment in favor of defendant, respondent Gertrude E. Nicholas, arising out of an automobile accident.

In the first instance Margaret Harrison and Charles E. Daugherty filed a complaint against Trudy B. Williams and Gertrude E. Nicholas. We are not here concerned with the outcome of the action, excepting as between Margaret Harrison and Gertrude E. Nicholas.

A résumé of some of the facts is as follows:

Mrs. Trudy Williams was the owner of a 1957 Chevrolet station wagon automobile. At about 8:45 a.m. December 11, 1957, Mrs. Williams drove the Chevrolet with her mother, Mrs. Gertrude E. Nicholas, as a passenger to a parking lot of the Valley Plaza Shopping Center near Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Victory Boulevard in Los Angeles County. The purpose of the trip was to deliver Mrs. Williams to her place of employment and Mrs. Nicholas was then to drive the automobile back to her home. The brakes on the Chevrolet and the car itself were in good mechanical condition. Mrs. Nicholas testified that the Chevrolet was parked by Mrs. Williams in a generally eastward direction at a designated place next to an

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empty parking space. There were no vehicles immediately in front of the Chevrolet. The morning was cold, the windows of the ear were rolled up and the heater was turned on. The engine was not turned off. Mrs. Nicholas saw Mrs. Williams pull the emergency brake on when she parked the car. The gears were put into neutral position. The driver of the ear, Mrs. Williams, remained behind the steering wheel and the two ladies talked for a few minutes. While so seated Mrs. Nicholas saw the appellant, Margaret Harrison and a boy (her son) approaching from the left. The appellant and her boy were busily engaged in conversation with each other.

Mrs. Nicholas was of the mind to let the appellant and her son pass from in front of the automobile before getting over into the driver’s seat. Mrs. Nicholas did not touch any part of the operational mechanism. When the appellant and the boy arrived at a point which was a short distance from the car, the daughter, Mrs. Williams, got out of the ear. Mrs. Williams touched no part of the operational mechanism in getting out of the car. She closed the door by slamming it. After this Mrs. Williams put her hand on the door handle and the ear started to move forward. Mrs. Nicholas, during the events just mentioned, remained seated in the passenger’s seat. When the car started to move forward the pedestrians were by the right front of the car. The boy could have reached out and touched the ear. His mother was on the other side of the boy, away from the car. The boy jumped out of the way of the ear but the appellant was hit by the ear and thrown to the ground. She got up with the help of her son and started to run toward one of the stores but in doing so fell down. After the appellant was struck by the automobile and after she first regained her feet, Mrs. Nicholas succeeded in sliding over into the driver’s compartment of the car. Mrs. Nicholas tried to turn the ear to avoid running over the appellant and headed it toward the curb. She attempted to apply her foot to the brake to stop the forward motion of the car but when impact was made with the curb her foot slipped to the accelerator. The ear went over the curb and she then turned off the ignition.