Pearson v. Piedmont & N. Ry. Co.
Pearson v. Piedmont & N. Ry. Co.
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
This is an action for death by the wrongful act. The appellant owns and operates an electric railway, between Camp Wadsworth and Spartanburg. On account of the great number of workmen who labor at Camp Wadsworth in the day, and sleep in Spartanburg at night, the railway company was unable to meet the great demand upon its transportation department. The company put on a special train for workmen, which was moved, by a steam locomotive. On the 17th October, 1917, the electric train left the station at the camp only a few minutes (some say five min • utes) ahead of the steam train. Both used the same track. Both trains were loaded beyond their capacity. There is evidence that the workmen’s train was not only crowded, but that men were standing in the aisles, on the platform between the cars, on the steps, on the tender, in the cab, on the sideboards around the engine, and on the pilot (or rather where the pilot usually is), in front of the engine. On the line of road there is a place where the railway runs through a cut and then out on a fill. The road curves in the cut. When the work train came out of the cut, it found the electric train standing or moving slowly on the fill and not over 300 yards distant. A rear end collision occurred, in which the deceased was so badly mangled that he lingered only few hours and died. As might be expected, when people are killed and wounded, the testimony is conflicting. This death gave rise to two actions, one for the beneficiaries under the statute, and the other for the benefit of the estate of the deceased. The two actions were tried together on Circuit, and in this Court. The defendant moved for a nonsuit and for a directed verdict in its favor on the grounds:
(1) That the uncontradicted evidence shows that the deceased was a trespasser; and (2) that the uncontradicted *224 evidence shows that the deceased was guilty of contributory wantonness and recklessness in riding on the pilot of the engine.
There was abundant evidence here to carry the question of contributory wantonness and recklessness to the jury.
*225
The judgment is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Pearson v. Piedmont N. Ry. Co. (Two Cases.)
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published