White v. Metropolitan Street Railway Co.
White v. Metropolitan Street Railway Co.
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff’s action is for personal injury alleged to have been caused by the negligence of defendant’s servants. At the close of the evidence in her behalf the trial court, at defendant’s request, gave a peremptory instruction against her and she, in due time, appealed.
At the time of the accident plaintiff was sixty-one years old. and was living with her husband in a thickly populated part of Kansas City. It was in the midst of the winter season and the streets and sidewalks had for several davs been covered with a slick coating of sleet,
In order to understand fully our disposition of the case, we call attention to what is alleged in the petition and what she testified that she did when defendant’s servant sounded the hell on the wagon. We do this on account of the difference between that and the argument made by her counsel. The latter say that the bell was suddenly sounded and that she “ leaped” to one side onto the icy part of the street. But it is alleged in the petition that in order to “avoid being struck by said repair vehicle plaintiff stepped” upon the icy portion of the street. At another place the allegation is that it was defendant’s duy to have stopped the wagon and thereby have avoided compelling this plaintiff to go upon said slick and icy part of said street.” While plaintiff stated on direct examination that she “leaped,” she explained on cross-examination, that she meant by use of that word, ‘£ a step or two.' I suppose a foot or two. I didn’t take but one or two steps.” The allegation in the petition is binding upon her, and her expression in testimony, when explained, sustained the allegation. '
She alleged and testified that she stepped out of the way upon the slick part of the street, and so far as that action alone was concerned, she did so safely, for she was not struck by the wagon. If the petition had alleged and she had testified, that the sudden approach of the wagon gave her no chance to choose her footing and step to one side, but compelled her to have no thought or care for her footing and to make a leap onto the ice, as counsel in argument endeavor to make it appear, it may be it would have presented a cause of action. But no such case as that was presented. Nor do the authorities (Phelps v. Railroad, 221 Mo. 442; Boggs v. Railroad, 18 Mo. App. 274, Jewel v. Powder Co., 143 Mo. App. 200 and Gulick v. Clark, 51 Mo. App. 33), cited by plaintiff have any application.
We may well suppose that the driver of defendant’s vehicle thought when he sounded the bell that it would cause plaintiff to do just what she alleges and testifies (she did do, viz., get out of the way by stepping to one side, but there is nothing in that in the least way wrong, unless we are to say that on days when there is sleet on the streets, vehicle travel must suspend, or else stop as each pedestrian is overtaken and take him aboard.
Neither do we think that the driver should reasonably have supposed that the act of plaintiff in stepping to one side would cause her to. fall and hurt herself.
The judgment should be affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.