Bloomquist v. Ely

617 N.E.2d 474, 247 Ill. App. 3d 656, 187 Ill. Dec. 266, 1993 Ill. App. LEXIS 1110
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJuly 22, 1993
Docket3-92-0858
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 617 N.E.2d 474 (Bloomquist v. Ely) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bloomquist v. Ely, 617 N.E.2d 474, 247 Ill. App. 3d 656, 187 Ill. Dec. 266, 1993 Ill. App. LEXIS 1110 (Ill. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

JUSTICE STOUDER

delivered the opinion of the court:

The plaintiff, Bernise Bloomquist, brought a negligence • action against the defendants, James R. Ely and Black Fertilizer, Inc., for injuries she received when her car went off a rural highway on May 1, 1989. The jury returned a verdict for the defendants. The plaintiff appeals, raising numerous alleged errors on the part of the trial court. At trial, the parties presented the testimony of numerous occurrence and expert witnesses. Only those facts necessary for an understanding of the case and for disposition of the issues presented will be set forth.

At trial, the plaintiff testified she was driving her 1982 Chevy Citation to work on Monday morning, May 1, 1989. The weather that day was clear and the roads were dry. The plaintiff lived in Wyoming, Illinois, and worked in Pekin. The route she took to work included a stretch of Route 91. At approximately 7 a.m., the plaintiff was driving south on Route 91 in Peoria County. Just south of Dunlap, Illinois, the plaintiff crested a hill. In front of her she noted a car traveling behind a large chemical/fertilizer spreader truck (hereinafter referred to as the spreader). At the time, her car was operating on cruise control and she was traveling between 50 and 52 miles per hour. She applied the brake, thus taking the car out of cruise control. The car in front of her pulled over into.the northbound lane and proceeded to pass the spreader.

As a point of reference, the record shows that just south of Dunlap, there is a stretch of Route 91, approximately six-tenths of a mile long, which is relatively flat and straight. Along this stretch, the highway is divided by a broken yellow line. The record shows there are no “no-passing” signs along this portion of the highway. The record also shows a number of roads and driveways cross or lead off to the left and right from Route 91. One of these, Fox Road, is a gravel road going east from Route 91. The only sign indicating the presence of Fox Road to southbound traffic is a green sign approximately 270 feet north of the intersection. The sign contains the words “FOX ROAD” and an arrow pointing to the left.

In any event, as the plaintiff entered this stretch of Route 91, she came up behind the spreader. She testified she had noticed no lights on the rear of the spreader. She testified that just before the intersection of Dickison Cemetery Road and Route 91, she turned on her left-turn signal and moved out into the northbound lane. (Dickison Cemetery Road is one quarter mile north of Fox Road.) The plaintiff pulled back into the southbound lane behind the spreader, when she thought she noticed an oncoming northbound vehicle. She testified it was difficult to see around the spreader because it was very wide and had spray booms attached to the sides.

The plaintiff glanced in her rearview mirror and observed a number of cars behind her. She again turned on her left-turn signal and moved out into the northbound lane. She did not see any oncoming traffic so she decided to pass the spreader. The plaintiff testified she commenced this second passing maneuver just past Dickison Cemetery Road.

As the front of her car came about even with the spreader’s cab, she noted out of the corner of her eye that the large rear tire of the spreader was moving toward her. She then noticed a light near the front of the spreader. The plaintiff testified that at that moment she wondered if the truck was about to turn left into a nearby field. She moved her car as far over to the left as she could. Realizing she could not pass the truck, she contemplated turning left onto Fox Road. Fearing that she might turn her car over, the plaintiff decided to drive into a farmyard which was situated on the southeast corner of the intersection of Fox Road and Route 91. When she noticed a ditch separating the farmyard from Fox Road she “stomped on” the brakes. Her car skidded on the gravel surface of Fox Road and into the ditch. The car then “bounced” out of the ditch and continued toward a garage. When the car came to a stop, the plaintiff put the car in park and turned the car off.

The driver of the spreader, the defendant, James Ely, pulled into Fox Road and stopped. The plaintiff testified she heard Ely say that he had looked in his mirror, but had not seen her car because the truck was too big. The plaintiff suffered injuries to her head, abdomen and right knee.

Ely testified to being an employee of the codefendant, Black Fertilizer, Inc. Ely testified the spreader he was driving on May 1, 1989, was a modified Ford truck, which when purchased had only the cab and chassis. Ely testified he had done some of the modifications himself. Ely stated he did not refer to any rules or regulations in modifying the Ford truck. He further testified that he did not design the modifications, he only installed them. The record shows that part of the modification included very large rear “floatation” tires. These tires were feet high and 3^2 feet wide. This enabled the vehicle to travel over farm fields causing less compaction of the soil and lessening the chances of the spreader getting stuck. The tires were not to be driven at a speed in excess of 30 miles per hour. With the tanks and other apparatus mounted on the back of the spreader, the vehicle was 11 feet wide. The large rear tires also extended out from the side of the spreader farther than the front tires.

Ely testified that the side mirror mounts were not modified to take into account the widening of the rear of the vehicle. These were the mirror mounts which came with the original cab and chassis. He testified that when driving the spreader he could not see small vehicles that were right behind the spreader or right beside it toward the rear.

On May 1, 1989, Ely was on his way to the farm of Dayton Reed, whose farmhouse was located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Fox Road and Route 91. Ely was proceeding southbound on Route 91 from Dunlap around 7 a.m. At trial, Ely testified that approximately 150 to 300 feet north of Fox Road he moved the left rear tire of the spreader onto the center line. Ely indicated he did this to notify persons driving behind him that he was going to make a left turn. Ely conceded that his rear wheel may have crossed over the center line; however, he did not know how far.

Ely testified he turned on his turn signal and “made his move.” A half second later he noticed the plaintiff’s car next to the cab of the spreader. The plaintiff’s left tires were on the shoulder. Ely indicated this may have been 150 to 180 feet north of Fox Road. He moved his vehicle back over to the right. The plaintiff’s car went across Fox Road, hit a ditch and went into Dayton Reed’s farmyard. Ely pulled into Fox Road, stopped the spreader and went over to the plaintiff’s car. Ely testified he could not recall anything he said to the plaintiff.

Rick Roberts testified he was driving southbound behind the plaintiff on May 1, 1989. Roberts saw the plaintiff signal, indicating she was going to pass the spreader. Roberts testified that the plaintiff commenced this pass approximately 100 to 200 feet north of Fox Road. As the plaintiff was passing the spreader, Roberts noticed the spreader moving left into the northbound lane. Roberts testified this took place within three or four seconds of the plaintiff’s commencing her pass.

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Bluebook (online)
617 N.E.2d 474, 247 Ill. App. 3d 656, 187 Ill. Dec. 266, 1993 Ill. App. LEXIS 1110, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bloomquist-v-ely-illappct-1993.