Sweeney v. St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Co.
Sweeney v. St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Co.
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
This action wras commenced before a justice of the peace to recover damages for an injury to the plaintiff’s horse, which resulted in its death, and, also, for damages to the plaintiff’s harness and wagon. On trial anew, in the circuit court, the plaintiff’s evidence was to the effect that the plaintiff was engaged, with his horse and wagon, in hauling stone from a stone quarry, belonging to Fruin and Bambrick, and that his son, a lad fourteen years of age, was employed to drive his horse and cart; that the quarry was situated on one side of the defendant’s railway, within the limits of the city of St. Louis; and that, on the day of the accident, the stone was being hauled from the quarry, across the defendant’s railway, to a place where it was unloaded and broken up. The crossing was a private crossing, used only by those employed at the stone quarry. The conformation of the ground was such that from the quarry, out of which the plaintiff’s son brought'the stone, the road descended to one of the three railway tracks, which the defendant had there, with a steep grade, — about twenty feet in one hundred. About half past eight in the morning, the boy started from the quarry with a cart load of stone, and drove straight upon the defendant’s track, without stopping, at which
On the other hand, the defendant’s evidence was to the effect that, immediately before the accident, the engine and the cars which it was engaged in switching were standing a short distance east of the crossing; that the fireman was engaged in putting in fuel, and the engineer was looking east for the signal to start, at the time when the train was actually started; that one of the fireman’s duties was to keep a lookout when the train was moving, and that, when the train started, he looked to the west, and soon after saw the plaintiff ’ s son, with the horse and cart, emerging upon the track, between two cars, which stood upon the side track. He shouted to the engineer to reverse the engine, and put on the brake. This was immediately done, but not soon enough to avert the disaster. The plaintiff’s horse was struck by the pilot of the engine, and dragged along some distance.
There is really no conflict in the evidence on either side. The defendant’s evidence, if believed, makes it very plain that the engine was stopped within the shortest possible space after discovering the horse and cart descending upon the track, and there was no contradictory evidence on this point. There was no distinct evidence on either side, as to whether the bell was being rung as soon as the train was put in motion toward the west. As the crossing was not a public grossing, there was no public statutory duty imposed on the defendant to ring the bell, under the circumstances;
On the contrary, the instructions which were given predicated a right of recovery upon the theory of the failure of the defendant’s servants to avert the danger, ■after discovering the exposed situation of the plaintiff’s horse and cart, or after they, might have discovered it, by the exercise of ordinary care.
We see no evidence on which the cause could properly have been submitted to the jury upon either of these theories. All the evidence speaking upon the question was to the effect, that the train was stopped within the shortest possible space after discovering the exposed situation of the plaintiff’s horse and cart, and no attempt was made to rebut this evidence. Nor was there any evidence that, by the exercise of ordinary care, the defendant’s servants on the engine or train •could have seen the horse and cart sooner than they did. On the contrary, the plaintiff’s evidence negatives this conclusion. It was to the effect that, although plaintiff’s son looked both ways, he could see no approaching train. He could not see this train .approaching from
As we see no evidence to take the case to the j ury,, the judgment is reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.