Elliott v. Yawn
Elliott v. Yawn
Opinion of the Court
Jaunice Yawn and George Bennett sued Clayton C. Elliott for damages allegedly caused by the negligence of the defendant’s servant. On January 25, 1953, at about 8 p. m., the plaintiffs’ employee was driving the plaintiffs’ tractor-trailer truck in a southerly direction on U. S. Highway No.;341. At the same time the defendant’s employee was driving the defendant’s tractor-trailer truck in a northerly direction along the same highway. The two trucks met on a bridge on the highway at a point approximately five miles east of Perry, Georgia. While on the bridge the two trucks collided causing damage to both trucks. The plaintiffs seek to recover the damage to their truck resulting from the collision, alleging that the collision and resulting damage were due to the negligence of the defendant’s driver. On the trial the jury returned a verdict for
Sergeant R. J. McNeill of the Georgia State Patrol testified for the plaintiff in substance as follows: that he arrived at the scene of the collision about ten minutes after the collision occurred; that he had been a member of the Georgia State Patrol for twelve years; that he had studied markings on the highways and was able to make deductions from such markings; that the bridge was 286 feet long and 18 feet wide; that the approach to the bridge from the south headed north was down-hill; that the approach to the bridge from the north headed south was approximately level; that on the approaches to the bridge there were highway signs reading “Narrow Bridge” and “Slow” facing traffic on such approaches; that, when he arrived at the scene, the plaintiffs’ tractor-trailer was standing at the south of the bridge on the right side of the center line going south and was on an “even keel”; that judging from such position he concluded that the plaintiffs’ tractor-trailer had crossed the bridge on the right side of the center line going south; that the defendant’s truck “ended-up” turned over in the middle of the highway 75 feet north of the north end of the bridge; that the plaintiffs’ truck had cleared more than halfway the bridge when the collision occurred; that there were no skid marks on the bridge or approaches to indicate any applications of brakes, but there were tire marks on the bridge from the apparent point of collision to where the defendant’s truck finally came to a stop; that the bridge received a terrific impact from the defendant's vehicle, the vehicle tearing down concrete pillars and guard rails, which were all steel reinforced, on both sides of the bridge; that such damage began beyond the center of the bridge on the north end and continued to the north end of the bridge; that it appeared that the tractor did damage to one side of the bridge and the trailer to the other; that the plaintiffs’ tractor left the scene under its own power; that the defendant’s truck could not leave under its own power; that the two trailers were under eight feet wide; that with both tractor-trailers on the bridge at the same time the total clearance of the trucks and the bridge would be about two feet; that in order for two tractor-trailers the sizes of the two involved in this collision to pass on the bridge without
This testimony was not objected to. The plaintiffs’ driver was not permitted to testify concerning the details of the collision. The defendant’s driver had died. The testimony of Sergeant McNeill had probative value and authorized the verdict. Rentz v. Collins, 51 Ga. App. 782, 783 (4) (181 S. E. 678); Passley v. State, 62 Ga. App. 88, 94 (8 S. E. 2d 131); Collins v. State, 86 Ga. App. 157, 158 (71 S. E. 2d 99); Harmon v. Givens, 88 Ga. App. 629, 639 (5) (77 S.E. 2d 223). The jury also had for consideration numerous pictures showing the complete scene of the collision, the bridge and the damage thereto, the two trucks, the approaches, etc. The evidence as to the markings, the damage to the bridge, the damage to the vehicles, their relative positions, etc., authorized the jury to find that the weight of probabilities was that the defendant’s driver was speeding, and that the speed plus the physical surroundings, the narrow bridge, etc., was negligence and the proximate cause of the collision.
The defendant’s counsel on the cross examination of Sergeant McNeill brought out that the position in which he found the plaintiffs’ truck did not necessarily mean that the truck had stayed on its side of the center line of the bridge all the distance it traveled over the bridge. The defendant contends that certain markings on the right front tire and hub-cap of the plaintiffs’
The court did not err in denying the motion for a new trial.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.