Nicol v. Davis

PRESTON (H. L.), J.,

pro tem.

This is an action for damages for personal injuries. The ease was tried before a jury, which returned a verdict for plaintiff in the sum of $6,000. From the judgment entered upon this verdict the defendant Ray H. Davis prosecutes this appeal. •

The defendant Ray H. Davis lived on the south side of Jersey Street some distance west of Noe Street, in the city and county of San Francisco. On the day of the accident involved in this action, the defendant parked his automobile in front of his home; the automobile facing west. About 5 P. M., he entered his car, backed it down the hill easterly on the south side of Jersey Street, and ran against the plaintiff, who was walking southerly across the intersection of Jersey and Noe Streets, inflicting serious injuries upon her.

Appellant’s first two contentions are these: (1) The evidence is insufficient to support the verdict of the jury; (2) The plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law. We find no merit in either of these contentions.

After the accident the appellant Ray H. Davis had a conversation with James J. Begley, a police officer, and during this conversation Davis said, in substance, “the accident was my fault; I did not see the lady before I struck her. ’ ’

[28]

Mrs. Buckley, a niece of plaintiff, with whom she was living at the time of the accident, testified that she had a conversation with Davis immediately after the accident, and that he had stated to her: “That he was on his way to work, and he backed down the hill in order to turn around to go on Twenty-fourth street; and he said he did not know that he had struck anything until he felt something under his car, under the wheel of the car; and he got out, and my aunt was lying on the ground, out from the curb, right around the corner. . . . Well; I asked him if he sounded his horn, and he said he didn’t. Q. And did you ask him anything else ? A. I asked him if he looked to see if anyone was in the way, and he said no, he didn’t; he said, ‘I am in the habit of rolling down the hill backwards in order to save time, so I won’t have to stop.’ ...”

The witness John O’Brien testified that he was walking on the northerly side of Jersey Street and was just turning into Noe Street when he heard a “bump”; he looked and saw the appellant’s automobile across the street and the plaintiff and respondent on the ground.