CAMPBELL, ETC. v. Patton

175 A.2d 761, 227 Md. 125, 1961 Md. LEXIS 574
Court of Appeals of Maryland·Decided December 6, 1961·No. [No. 45, September Term, 1961.]·Published·Cited by 29 cases

Opinion

Marbury, J.,

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Separate suits were brought by Sandra Jean Patton, infant, Mary Jane Lee, infant, and their parents, against Leroy A. Campbell, and The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company to recover damages for injuries sustained when a school bus, owned and operated by Campbell, was struck by B. & O. train No. 4, the Diplomat, at the Mt. Lake—Loch Lynn crossing in Garrett County on September 10, 1959. The cases were consolidated and tried together before a jury (Fraley, J., presiding) .

The narrs allege that Campbell was negligent, among other things, in driving the bus onto the tracks in front of the oncoming train, in stalling it on the tracks, and in failing to take proper measures to safeguard the children on the bus after it stalled; and that the railroad’s agents were negligent, among other things, in operating the passenger train at a high rate of speed, in a careless and negligent manner, approximately one-half of a mile west of the crossing on straight track, with knowledge and view of the peril created by the stalled school bus in ample time to have stopped the train before impact, failed at that time to apply emergency brakes, and permitted the train to travel a great distance before the brakes were applied, thereby causing the train to crash into the school bus and injure the infant plaintiffs.

The jury returned its verdicts upon special issues submitted to them in favor of the plaintiffs and against both defendants, and judgments were entered accordingly, from which four appeals were brought here.

*128 On the morning of September 10, 1959, at approximately 8:30 A. M., a school bus operated by the appellant, Campbell, carrying twenty-seven school children, stalled on the railroad tracks at the Mt. Lake crossing and was struck by an eastbound B. & O. passenger train, which was running about ten minutes late at the time.

Campbell had operated a school bus under contract for the Garrett County Board of Education for eight years prior to the accident, having been assigned the same route the previous five years. Operation of this route called for his arrival at the Mt. Lake crossing at about the same time every morning. The Mt. Lake crossing is situated on the edge of Loch Lynn where Paul Street crosses, at right angles, the B. & O. main line tracks, into Mt. Lake Park, immediately across the tracks. Paul Street is 26 feet wide, and runs north and south. The tracks run east and west. Although “bumpy” there was no substantial defect in the crossing. Approaching the crossing from the south the grade is 3%, approaching from the north it is 4.5%.

The crossing consists of three tracks, a spur track on the south, an eastbound track in the middle, a westbound track on the north. The school bus was traveling in a northerly direction as it approached the Mt. Lake crossing. On the south, or Loch Lynn, side of this crossing the State Roads Commission had painted lines on Paul Street 13 feet south of the spur track, indicating the proper place for vehicles to stop. These lines are 44 feet 2 inches from the south rail of the eastbound main line track, on which the train approached. Between the lines on the pavement and the eastbound main track is the spur track. The north rail of the spur track is 31 feet 3 ¿4 inches from the south rail of the eastbound track. The crossing slopes downgrade from south to north. It is protected by the usual crossarms, bell and flasher lights which were designed to give warning of an approaching train when it reached a signal switch 2250 feet west of the crossing.

From the center of the crossing the two main line tracks run straight west for 2600 to 2700 feet, then gradually curve to the right to a point where the farthest view of the crossing from the west by a person standing on the tracks was 3120 *129 feet, and proceed for a mile or so through open country into Oakland.

Along the south side of the eastbound track between the curve and crossing are located several objects which are material to these cases. The control which activates the signals at the crossing is located 2250 feet west of the crossing. The whistle post is located 1683 feet west of the crossing. A “home” signal is located 1291 feet west of the crossing. An order board is located 591 feet 1 inch west of the crossing and is in front of the center of the structure known as the Mt. Lake Park tower.

The train consisted of three diesel units and eight cars, with an overall length of 824 feet 2j4 inches. The three diesel units had a combined length of 192 feet.

The distance from the center of the crossing to the point of rest of the bus after the accident was 113 feet. The distance from the center of the crossing to the head of the first engine, after the train stopped following the accident, was 1277 feet.

On the morning of the accident when the weather was clear and dry Campbell stopped the school bus at the lines south of the spur track, opened the front door, listened and looked both ways for approaching trains, but saw and heard nothing indicating the approach of a train. From this position he had an unobstructed view of the tracks to the west for a distance of approximately 3120 feet.

As the school bus started up again after stopping, the crossing signals were not in operation. These signals, as previously indicated, were designed to give warning of an approaching train when it reached the signal switch 2250 feet to the west of the crossing. There was no evidence to show that the train was yet in sight as the bus first started moving onto the crossing. The bus proceeded slowly in second gear and crossed the spur tracks without difficulty. It was not moving faster than a person would walk, still in second gear with the motor pulling.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

CAMPBELL, ETC. v. Patton, 175 A.2d 761, 227 Md. 125, 1961 Md. LEXIS 574 (Md. 1961).

175 A.2d 761 (CAMPBELL, ETC. v. Patton) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Jones v. State
941 A.2d 498 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 2008)
Terumo Medical Corp. v. Greenway
911 A.2d 888 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 2006)
McCracken v. State
820 A.2d 593 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 2003)
Brendel v. Ellis
742 A.2d 1 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1999)
Eagle-Picher Industries, Inc. v. Balbos
578 A.2d 228 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1990)
Bruce v. State
569 A.2d 1254 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 1990)
Bane v. State
533 A.2d 309 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1987)
McCray v. State
501 A.2d 856 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 1985)
Virgil v. " KASH N'KARRY" SERVICE CORP.
484 A.2d 652 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1984)
Gallant ex rel. Gallant v. Gorton
581 F. Supp. 909 (D. Massachusetts, 1984)
GALLANT BY GALLANT v. Gorton
581 F. Supp. 909 (D. Massachusetts, 1984)
Griffith v. Montgomery County
470 A.2d 840 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1984)
Chai Management, Inc. v. Leibowitz
439 A.2d 34 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1982)
Impala Platinum Ltd. v. Impala Sales (U.S.A.), Inc.
389 A.2d 887 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 1978)
State v. Kidd
375 A.2d 1105 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 1977)
Thomas v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
310 A.2d 186 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1973)
Sun Cab Co. v. Walston
289 A.2d 804 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1972)
Cooper v. State
286 A.2d 579 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1972)
Long v. Director, Patuxent Institution
261 A.2d 819 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1970)