State v. McKinstry
State v. McKinstry
Opinion of the Court
The defendant was tried to the court and convicted of failure to grant the right of way at an intersection in violation of § 14-245 of the General Statutes. In his appeal, he has assigned error in the conclusion of the court that upon all the evidence he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
No finding was necessary, and no finding was made. Cir. Ct. Rule 7.31.1. On the morning of January 11, 1963, sometime prior to 8 o’clock, an accident occurred, at the intersection of State Street extension and Lake Street in the city of Meriden, in which two automobiles were involved. One of these vehicles was being operated by the defendant and the other by Frank Cybulski. State Street extension runs generally north and south and is ap
Section 14-245 provides: “Each driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection shall grant the right of way at such intersection to any vehicle approaching from his right when such vehicles are arriving at such intersection at approximately the same time, unless otherwise directed by a traffic officer.” It is not disputed that the Cybulski car was approaching the intersection from the defendant’s right. The basic contention of the defendant is that he had the right of way because, first, the state failed to prove that the vehicles arrived at the intersection at approximately the same time, and second, Cybulski failed to exercise ordinary care in that he did not see the defendant’s ear until it struck him and, further, in that he failed to stop before entering the intersection. We consider first whether there was credible evidence from which the
The defendant’s second contention relates to the operational conduct of Cybulsld and amounts to a claim of contributory negligence. The rule of law concerning contributory negligence as a defense in a civil action has no application in a criminal case. State v. Campbell, 82 Conn. 671, 675; 15 Am. Jur., Criminal Law, § 319.
We are satisfied that, on all the evidence, the court was not in error in concluding that guilt had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
There is no error.
In this opinion Kinmonth and Levine, Js., concurred.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.