Hendry v. Virginia Railway & Power Co.
Hendry v. Virginia Railway & Power Co.
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
In this case there was a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in error, which the trial court set aside upon the ground-that it was contrary to the evidence or without evidence to support it, and thereupon, by authority of Code 1919, section 6251, entered judgment in favor of the defendant, and this action is assigned as error.
This case is controlled by the doctrines so clearly stated in the recent cases of Virginia Railway & Power Co. v. Boltz, 122 Va. 649, 95 S. E. 467, and Virginia Railway & Power Co. v. Harris, 122 Va. 657, 95 S. E. 403.
The rule is the same in other jurisdictions.
In Holian v. Boston Elevated R. Co., 194 Mass. 74, 80 N. E. 1, 11 L. R. A. (N. S.) 166, it is held that where a pedestrian, after having seen an approaching car eighty feet distant, while standing on the sidewalk, attempted to cross without further precautions, when she might have prevented the accident either by quickening her pace or waiting, is guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law, and in the absence of any other circumstance showing negligence on the part of the company cannot recover.
In Meyer v. Pittsburg, etc., Traction Co., 189 Pa. 414, 42 Atl. 41, it was held that where one who was at the side of a street, not at a crossing, saw two cars approaching from opposite directions, and undertook to cross both tracks between the cars, he could not recover as a matter of law.
The cases are collected in a note to Manos v. Detroit United Railway, 168 Mich. 155, 130 N. W. 664, L. R. A. 1917 C, 692.
The judgment of the trial court' is plainly right.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Alexander Hendry v. Virginia Railway and Power Co.
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- 11 cases
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- Syllabus
- 1. Last Clear Chance — Evidence—Burden of Proof. — In order to apply the doctrine of discovered peril or last clear chance, the burden is upon the plaintiff, -who is confessedly negligent, to prove by a preponderance of the testimony that, after his. peril became imminent, there was a clear opportunity afforded the defendant to save him from the consequences of his own negligence, and this fact must be proved like any other fact upon which the plaintiff relies. 2. Street Railways — Last Clear Chance — Pedestrian Struck Immediately After Stepping on Track. — If a pedestrian, in full possession of his faculties, having observed the near approach of a street car, neglects to pay any further attention to it, but with nothing to obstruct his view undertakes to cross the street in front of it, and is immediately struck, he is guilty of a clear neglect of duty in not assuring or reassuring himself that he can cross the track in safety, and the fact that he is thus immediately struck is convincing proof that there was no last clear chance to save him, and, therefore, that his own gross negligence is the proximate cause of his injury.