Burrow v. Idaho & Washington Northern Railroad

135 P. 838, 24 Idaho 652, 1913 Ida. LEXIS 182
Idaho Supreme Court·Decided September 27, 1913·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

STBWABT, J.

This action was brought by the appellant, as administratrix of the estate of William J. Burrow, deceased, against the respondent, to recover the sum of $3,000, damages for the alleged wrongful death of her husband, William J. Burrow. The complaint alleges the death of Burrow and the appointment of appellant as administratrix of the estate of the deceased, and her qualification as such; that the respondent is a railroad company organized under the laws of the state of Idaho, and the owner and operator of a railroad which extends through Kootenai county, together with the track, rolling stock and appurtenances belonging to the same; that on October 24, 1911, William J. Burrow was traveling northward in a wagon drawn by two horses along a public highway in said county, which highway crosses the [658] railroad at a point about six miles northeast of Rathdrum and about 400 yards south of the Upper Fish Creek spur; that at the crossing there was at said time a sharp bend or curve, and on either side of the highway where it crosses said railroad, and particularly on the south side, there was a deep cut and high banks of earth; that in traveling toward said public crossing on said railroad south of said crossing it could not be seen by reason of said curve, cut and high banks of earth; that as deceased reached said public crossing de-. fendant ran one of its locomotives with a train of cars attached, then going southward, across said highway at said crossing at a careless and negligent rate of speed and without any warning of any kind, and did then and there cause its said locomotive and train of cars to pass rapidly over the railroad track and negligently and carelessly omitted its duty while approaching said crossing to give any signal by ringing the bell or sounding the steam whistle, by reason whereof deceased was unaware of the approach of said locomotive and train and in consequence thereof said locomotive struck the horses and wagon of the deceased, thereby causing the deceased to be thrown with great force and violence upon the ground, whereby he was instantly killed; that by reason of the carelessness, negligence and wrongful acts of the defendant in causing the death of the deceased, plaintiff as administratrix has been damaged in the sum of $3,000.

The respondent denies specifically the charges of negligence against respondent and charges contributory negligence on the part of the deceased, and alleges that on October 24, 1911, its train, consisting of a locomotive and a caboose, was running from Spirit Lake to Grand Junction; that as it approached this crossing it was running about thirty miles an hour; that said locomotive was equipped with a steam whistle and a bell; that as it approached said crossing the whistle was sounded at a distance of at least eighty rods from said crossing, and kept sounding at intervals until the locomotive crossed the crossing, and the bell was rung at a distance of at least eighty rods from the crossing; that as the locomotive crossed said crossing, while said whistle was being sounded and said bell being rung, the said deceased was driving along the public [659] •highway from the east, and without stopping, looking or listening at all, he drove upon the railroad track with the wagon and team where said public highway crossed the railroad, and when said team was upon the track, instead of urging the horses forward, he attempted to back his horses along the public highway from the direction whence he came; that as soon as the crew saw the deceased drive upon the railroad in front of the locomotive, they exercised the utmost care, but that said train could not be stopped before it struck the said deceased, notwithstanding the fact that the engineer and crew were constantly on the lookout, and as soon as the deceased was discovered driving upon the track, they made every effort to stop the train, but that owing to the sudden driving by the deceased upon the railroad track in front of the locomotive, and at such a short distance in front thereof, they were unable to stop said engine and train in time to prevent running on said deceased and his team; and alleges that the death was caused by his own contributory negligence, which was the proximate cause of his death, and' that his death was not caused by any negligence of the respondent, its servants, agents or employees.

After the evidence was completed upon the part of both parties, the following instruction was given to the jury: “The court instructs the jury, as a matter of law, that the evidence is insufficient in this action to justify or sustain a verdict for the plaintiff, and you are, therefore, instructed to return your verdict for defendant. ’ ’ The jury returned a verdict in compliance with the court’s instruction. A motion was made for a new trial and overruled, and this appeal is from the order denying the application for a new trial.

The appellant assigns twelve errors, and the same will be summarized in three divisions:

1. That the court erred in refusing to permit appellant to cross-examine Ford J. Keller, under the statute, as an adverse and hostile witness, said Keller being the locomotive engineer of respondent.

The appellant relies upon the statute, Sess. Laws. 1909, p. 334, sec. 1, which is as follows:

[660] “See. 1. A party to the record of any civil action or proceeding, or person for whose immediate benefit such action or proceedings is prosecuted or defended, or the directors, officers, superintendent or managing agents of any corporation which is a party to such record, may be examined by the adverse party as if under cross-examination, subject to the rules applicable to the examination of other witnesses; and the testimony given by such witnesses may be rebutted by the party calling him for such examination, by other evidence. Such witness when so called may be examined by his own counsel but only as to the matters testified to on such examination.”

This statute provides three classes which may be examined by the adverse party as if under examination: 1st, a party to the record of any civil action or proceedings; 2d, the person for whose immediate benefit such action or proceedings is prosecuted or defended; 3d, the directors, officers, superintendent or’ managing agents of any corporation which is a party to such record.

Ford J. Keller was the locomotive engineer of the respondent ; he does not come within the provisions of the. foregoing section; he was not a party to the record of any civil action; he was not the person for whose immediate benefit such action or proceedings is prosecuted or defended; neither was he a director, officer, superintendent or managing agent of any corporation which was a party to the record; there was no error in the court’s refusing the permit asked by the appellant to examine the witness.

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Burrow v. Idaho & Washington Northern Railroad, 135 P. 838, 24 Idaho 652, 1913 Ida. LEXIS 182 (Idaho 1913).

135 P. 838 (Burrow v. Idaho & Washington Northern Railroad) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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