Loughnan v. Hines
Loughnan v. Hines
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff, Mrs. Loughnan, as administratrix of the estate of her deceased husband, Hulton Loughnan, commenced tbis action in the su
The so-called flag station of Beaver creek consists only of the intersection of a county highway, running north and south, with the main line of the Tacoma & Grays Harbor Division of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, running east and west; a spur track on the south side of the main line connecting therewith about five hundred feet east of the intersection; a lumber loading platform adjoining and on the south side of the spur track; and a small building or shelter adjoining and upon the north of the main-line track. Regular trains stop at this flag station only on signal, and there does not appear to be any occasion for or custom of the regular trains dimimshing their speed when passing over tMs crossing, except when stopping for passengers or freight. Indeed, the crossing seems to be treated as any other country road crossing in so
At the time the deceased lost his life, he had been employed for a month or more by a lumber company as a logging truck driver to haul logs over this country road and crossing from the woods north of the railway track to the company’s sawmill, a short distance south of the railway track. He had, for a month or more previous, made an approximate average of five trips a day, driving the truck over the crossing approximately ten times a day; so, of course, he was well acquainted with, the crossing, its surroundings and attendant dangers. The road approaches the railway track from the south on a slight up-grade. On the road, at a distance of eighty-five feet to the south of the crossing, one riding in an automobile, or truck such as the deceased was driving, can for a short space see a train on the railway to the east a distance of approximately six hundred and fifty feet from the crossing ; but at the time in question, by reason of obstructions towards the east — particularly lumber on the platform and a freight car on the spur track — such traveler could not again see east along the track for any considerable distance until he would arrive at thirty feet south of the crossing, when he would have an unobstructed view of the track to the east for a distance of two hundred and thirty-two feet, looking past the north side of the freight car then on the spur; which view to the east- would be proportionately extended as he continued to approach the crossing, there being no further obstruction to his view while passing over this thirty feet of the road. The railway track runs straight east for a long distance.
At the time in question, deceased approached the railway track from the south, driving the truck on his way to the woods for a load of logs for the mill. It
“Q. . . . What happened there with reference to the section man? A. I got up and hollered at the section man to flag the truck driver. Q. When was that you did it? A. Just before the accident and it was when the truck must have been within thirty or thirty-five feet from the rail and he got up and [said] ‘ Hey, you better stop there ’ and that is all that he said.*170 He stuck up one hand and said ‘you better stop there.’ Q. You heard him say those words from where you were on the platform?- A. Yes. . . . Q. Where was the hand-car, if they had a hand-car? A. It was sitting back about fifty feet there from the crossing, right opposite the track. Q. What was the section foreman doing before you called to him? A. He was sitting on the hand-car or whatever it was. It was either a hand-ear or a few ties. I am pretty sure it was a hand-car.”
Another witness, who was on the platform with Taylor, heard him call to the section foreman, and also saw and heard the section foreman warn the deceased as he was approaching the crossing. Referring to the action of the deceased immediately prior to the accident, Taylor also testified as follows:
“Q. What did the truck driver do at that time? A. It looked as though he gave a slight glance up the track and kind of raised up in his seat. Q. Now at the time the truck driver gave the short glance up the track, where, approximately as near as you can tell, was the head of the locomotive? A. Well it was practically onto him. It was within a very few feet you might say.”
This is in substance the whole of the evidence touching the question of what the deceased did in the way of looking for an approaching train as he approached the track. The foregoing facts are, of course, summarized from the evidence introduced in appellant’s behalf, and we think it is as favorable a summary of the facts supporting her counsel’s contentions as can be made from the evidence.
The principal ground of alleged negligence on the part of the operators of the train is failure to timely sound the whistle and ring the bell on approaching the crossing. We may concede, for present purposes, that the evidence tending to show negligent operation of the train was sufficient to carry that question
Counsel for appellant invoke our language used in Smith v. Inland Empire R. Co., 114 Wash. 441, 195 Pac. 236, as follows:
“Since no one saw the deceased at the time he approached the crossing, and since there was no evidence to show what he did at or before he attempted to cross the railway track, it must be presumed that he used due care. If his engine was running, making a noise, as it no doubt was, and if he approached the crossing and stopped, looked and listened before attempting to make the crossing and did not hear the crossing bell or the. approach of the train and did not see it until it was too late to avoid the accident, he was clearly not guilty of contributory negligence. ’ ’
“We are of the opinion that case [the Benedict case] is readily distinguishable from this by reason of the fact that there, while Mr. Benedict was crossing the track, witnesses who saw him testified that, as he approached the crossing, he was driving at a speed of eight or ten miles per hour; that he never slackened his speed but kept right on, and after crossing through the line of box cars, drove immediately in front of the train without looking or taking any precaution for his safety. There was, therefore, no presumption in that case that he exercised due care, because the evidence there very clearly showed that he exercised no care whatever. ’ ’
Some other claims of error are presented to us, but they have only to do with rulings touching the admissibility of evidence relating to the negligent operation of the train, and however viewed by us would not affect our conclusion upon the question of the deceased’s contributory negligence.
We see no escape from the conclusion that there can be no recovery for this unfortunate occurrence. The judgment of the trial court must be affirmed. It is so ordered.
Main, Mitchell, Bridges, and Tolman, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Jessie Loughnan, as Administratrix etc. v. Walker D. Hines, as Director General of Railroads
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- 1 case
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- Railroads (66) — Accident at Crossing — Contributory Negligence — Failure to. Control Speed op Truck. A truck driver, killed as the result of a collision with a passenger train on a country road crossing, was guilty of contributory negligence barring recovery for his death, where the evidence showed his familiarity with the crossing, its surroundings and attendant dangers; that there was a zone of safety before reaching the track of thirty to thirty-five feet, within which he could have seen the approaching train free of all obstruction to his view, and within which he could have stopped his truck; that he failed to heed a warning given by a section foreman, but continued his course without effort to control the speed of the truck until he had passed onto the crossing, when it was too late to do other than try to speed it up in an effort to save himself.