De Ornellas v. Truchetta

TAYLOR, J. On this appeal from an adverse judgment rendered on a jury verdict in a personal injury action, plaintiff, Lester R. De Ornellas, asserts that erroneous and prejudicial instructions were given to the jury pertaining to the effect of speed in excess of the prima facie speed limit (Veh. Code, § 511)1

The facts are as follows: A motorcycle owned and driven by the appellant ran into the right side of a bus driven by respondent, Anthony N. Truchetta, and owned by respondent, San Jose City Lines, Inc. The collision occurred on July 7, 1958, about 6:10 a.m. in the outside westbound lane of the intersection of San Carlos Street and Sunol Avenue.

San Carlos has four lanes, running east and west; Sunol [91]two lanes, running north and south. About 100-120 feet east of the intersection, San Carlos crosses railroad tracks, Montgomery Street, and then becomes a viaduct. At the western base of the viaduct (about 300 feet from the railroad tracks) another street enters San Carlos from the north. San Carlos is perfectly straight from the base of the viaduct to the Sunol intersection. The view is unobstructed in both directions. On the day of the accident, the weather was clear, the pavement dry.

The bus terminal of respondent San Jose City Lines fronts on San Carlos at the southwest corner of the intersection. On the morning of the accident, respondent Truchetta was driving the bus on its scheduled run out of the terminal. First, he drove into the outside eastbound lane of San Carlos, and then into the inside eastbound lane. There was no traffic at all. As he entered the inside eastbound lane, he turned on his blinkers to indicate a left turn, and stopped in the intersection so that the bus was on an angle facing partially east on San Carlos and partially north on Sunol. While stopped, Truchetta saw the appellant’s motorcycle approaching from the east on San Carlos about 500 feet away at the western base of the viaduct on the other side of the railroad tracks. He was unable to estimate the speed of the motorcycle and did not see it again before the collision.

After remaining stopped for a few seconds, Truchetta completed his left turn into Sunol. When the bus was parallel with Sunol, the motorcycle struck the bus behind the right front wheel. The point of impact was approximately 6 feet south of the extension of the north curb of San Carlos and 6 feet west of the extension of the east curb of Sunol. The outside westbound lane of San Carlos is about 20 feet wide as there is a parking lane; the inside westbound lane is about 9 feet wide. The bus was in low gear. It was 35 feet in length and partially extended across both lanes at the point of impact.