Vazquez v. Pacific Greyhound Lines

[629]

DOOLING, J.

Plaintiffs Vincent Vazquez and Helen Vazquez his wife appeal from judgments denying Vincent Vazquez a recovery for personal injuries received by him when the automobile which he was driving came into collision with a bus operated by defendant, and denying recovery to the two appellants for the death of their minor daughter in the same collision. Two other minors, David and Primo Vargas, who were riding in the automobile at the time of the collision recovered judgments for the injuries received by them, and their mother likewise recovered for the medical expenses incurred by her in the treatment of their injuries.

The evidence shows that two public highways in Solano County are connected by a paved roadway running from one to the other. The two highways, referred to in the testimony as Highway 40 and North Texas Street, are roughly parallel at this point and the roadway running from one to the other is designated as Road 8022. Vazquez drove his automobile on the night of the accident, Novemer 10, 1956, from Highway 40 into Road 8022 and traversed that roadway to its intersection with North Texas Street. He stopped at this intersection and then drove forward into North Texas Street and was making a left hand turn thereon when his automobile was struck by the Greyhound bus which was proceeding on North Texas Street.

The case was tried to a jury and the several verdicts of the jury above recited indicate that the jury must have found that both the driver of the bus and the appellant Vazquez were guilty of negligence proximately contributing to the collision.

The evidence showed without conflict that Road 8022 is a privately owned roadway, but that it is open to the public, is surfaced with macadam in a fashion similar to the surface on North Texas Street, is not signed in any way to advise the public that it is private and there is nothing in its appearance to indicate that it is not a public thoroughfare. The driver Vazquez suffered retrograde amnesia and could not testify to any of the events preceding the collision.

Section 550 of the Vehicle Code in effect at the time of the collision (now § 21800) provided in part: “ (a) The driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection shall yield the right of way to a vehicle which has entered the intersection from a different highway.”