Pate v. Pickwick Stages System

JAMISON, J.,

pro

tem.

These were actions for damages for personal injuries suffered by plaintiffs through the alleged negligence of defendants. They were consolidated by stipulation of counsel. The jury found for the plaintiff Belle Pate in the sum of $5,000 and for Frank Pate in the sum' of $1,000.

Judgments were thereupon rendered for said plaintiffs for said respective sums and from those judgments defendants appeal.

The facts are substantially as follows: Plaintiffs, in a Dodge coupe, were traveling north on the state highway, called the Redwood Highway, and one W. S. Chisholm with two passengers was traveling south in a Ford coupe on said highway. The two cars collided at a point on said highway where the road was practically straight for a distance of 450 feet, the place of collision being about 150 feet north of the northerly end of said straight piece of road. This collision occurred at 7:30 P. M. on October 28, 1928. At the time of the collision it was dark and a misty rain was falling. According to the evidence produced by respondents this collision was a slight one and inflicted no injury upon the occupants of the two automobiles. As a result of this collision the two cars were placed at an angle across said highway and

[672]

both of them were stopped. Shortly after they had stopped they were both struck by a stage operated by the Pickwick Stages System and driven by its agent, J. Lima, and as a result thereof respondents’ car was thrown from the road and landed about 25 feet down on a steep incline and both of the respondents were injured. There is a serious conflict between appellants and respondents as to the distance the stage was from the point where the Dodge and Ford automobiles had their collision. Lima, the driver of the stage, testified that he was 30 or 35 feet from the place where the collision between the Dodge and Ford cars occurred, that he was traveling about 30 miles per hour; that when he saw the collision between these two cars he started to apply his brakes and that the brakes were set when the stage was 15 or 20 feet from them.

On the other hand, Chisholm and Meakin, passengers in the Ford ear, testified that immediately after the collision between the Dodge and Ford cars, and after they had stopped, they saw the stage coming from the south, around the bend or curve at the southerly end of the straight piece of road. Chisholm placed this distance at 300 feet and Meakin at 150 to 175 feet. Lima telephoned a report of the accident the night it occurred to the superintendent of the Pickwick Stages System, and this report stated that the stage was 75 feet from the point where the Dodge and Ford cars collided at the time of said collision. Chisholm also testified that the stage was traveling fast as it came around the bend of the road, its speed being 40 or 45 miles per hour.