Deason v. Greyhound Corp.

114 So. 2d 78, 1959 La. App. LEXIS 953
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 30, 1959
DocketNo. 4846
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 114 So. 2d 78 (Deason v. Greyhound Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Deason v. Greyhound Corp., 114 So. 2d 78, 1959 La. App. LEXIS 953 (La. Ct. App. 1959).

Opinion

LOTTINGER, Judge.

This is a tort action brought by the widow and children of Marcus C. Deason who was struck by a truck as he was crossing the Scenic Highway in the Parish of East Baton Rouge after he had alighted from a Greyhound bus and was crossing the highway to board a Trailways bus. Joined as defendants were the Greyhound Corporation, James W. Pouns, the driver of the Greyhound bus, Continental Southern Lines, Inc., Sherman Franks, the driver of the Trailways bus, Porter Kent, owner of the truck which struck Deason, Rudolph Knight, driver of the Kent truck, and the Canal Insurance Company, insurer of the Kent truck.

The Lower Court rendered judgment absolving Kent, his driver and insurer [80]*80from liability, but rendered judgment in favor of the plaintiffs and against the two bus companies and their drivers. Sus-pensive appeals were taken by the latter and we reversed the judgment of the Lower Court as to them. See Deason v. Greyhound Corporation, 106 So.2d 348. The matter is now before us again on a devolu-tive appeal taken by the plaintiffs from the judgment of the Lower Court which was against them and in favor of Kent, his driver and insurer.

The allegations of negligence on the part of the driver of the Kent truck are as follows:

“38. Rudolph Knight, the driver of the truck, was guilty of concurrent negligence proximately causing the accident and the resulting injuries, death, damages and expenses, in the commission or omission of the following acts, all of which were and are imputed and imputable to his employer at the time of the accident, defendant, Porter Kent:
“(a) Rudolph Knight failed to keep a proper lookout for pedestrians crossing Scenic Highway particularly when he knew or should have known of the likelihood of such pedestrians crossing the highway in view of the parked Greyhound bus in the west lane of southbound traffic and the parked Trailways bus in the east lane of northbound traffic;
“(b) Rudolph Knight was operating the truck he was driving at too fast a rate of speed under the circumstances, particularly, in view of the fact that he knew or should have known of the possibility of the discharge of passengers from one bus to the other in view of the parked positions of the two busses;
“(c) Rudolph Knight failed to have the truck which he was operating under proper control;
“(d) Rudolph Knight overtook and passed a stopped bus in violation of the provisions of the ordinances of the City of Baton Rouge and the Parish of East Baton Rouge, Louisiana;
“(e) Rudolph Knight was otherwise guilty of negligence, carelessness, and reckless driving under the circumstances, all of which was negligence proximately causing and contributing to the accident.”

In our prior review of the matter we made certain findings which we herewith set forth again, as follows:

“The record reveals that decedent, Marcus C. Deason, had been employed in Centerville, Mississippi, and on July 14, 19SS, desired to visit his home in Oakdale, Louisiana. In order to do this it was necessary that he ride the Greyhound bus to Baton Rouge and there transfer to a Trailways bus which would take him to Alexandria, La., and then another transfer which would take him to his home in Oak-dale, Louisiana. He was aware of the fact that the Greyhound bus reached Baton Rouge after the Trailways bus had left there, but that the two buses passed on the outskirts of Baton Rouge on the Scenic Highway before the Trailways bus turned from the latter highway to go on the Airline Highway and over the overpass and the Mississippi River bridge and thence to Alexandria, Louisiana. Therefore, he boarded the Greyhound bus in the morning on the outskirts of Centerville, Mississippi and paid his fare to the defendant Pouns, who was the operator of the Greyhound bus, and at that time requested the latter to notify the driver of the Trailways bus that he had a passenger who wished to transfer, and, therefore, to stop the Greyhound bus and allow him to get off in order that he might get on the Trailways bus and continue [81]*81his journey toward his home in Oak-dale, Louisiana. As the Greyhound bus passed under the over-pass the driver saw the Trailways bus, either at the light or leaving the light, at the intersection of West Mason and Scenic Highway, a distance of some 400 feet. He proceeded but at a slower rate in order that he might come to a stop, and gave the signal which consisted of the flashing of lights which was the usual customary, pre-arranged signal between bus drivers to notify the approaching bus that a passenger wished to get off and transfer to the other bus. The Trailways bus driver, Sherman Franks, acknowledged the signal and slowed down in preparation for a complete stop off of the highway in order that Deason might cross Scenic Highway and board the Trailways bus. Of course, Deason had no ticket or had paid no fare on the Trailways bus but intended to pay cash when he boarded the bus. The Greyhound bus was stopped some 140 or 150 feet north of the intersection of West Mason and Scenic Highway against the curb in the west lane for southbound traffic in order that Deason might alight from the Greyhound bus. At this time the Trailways bus was proceeding in the east lane for northbound traffic across Scenic Highway and was still to the front of the Greyhound bus, which gave the driver and any occupants of the Trailways bus who might be observing or looking a clear view of what happened thereafter.
“Deason got out at the right front door of the Greyhound bus and stepped directly upon the grass between the sidewalk and the west curbing of Scenic Highway. He walked to the front of the bus and started across Scenic Highway toward the Trailways bus which, at this time, was still moving slowly toward a parking place completely off of the highway, and which when completed placed the Trailways bus to the rear but on the opposite side of the street from where the Greyhound bus had stopped to allow Deason to alight. Scenic Highway at the point of the accident and fatal injury to Deason is a four lane, busy traffic artery. Each lane is ten feet in width, thus there is 20 feet of pavement for southbound traffic and 20 feet of pavement for northbound traffic with a six foot neutral ground in the center, which has in the middle of it concrete posts approximately ten feet apart with a wire cable running through each post. The cable is approximately three feet from the ground. It would be necessary for one crossing Scenic Highway at this point to step up on this neutral ground, walk three feet, step over the cable, walk three more feet on the other side and then cross the two north traffic lanes. The day was clear and visibility excellent at the time of the accident, and there were no obstructions other than as described in the neutral ground and no traffic to obscure Deason’s view other than the front width of the Greyhound bus. However, he had a full view after reaching a point in the highway where he could see down the side of the Greyhound bus. Deason got his suit case, alighted from the Greyhound bus, walked around the front and started across Scenic Highway and had proceeded across the ten foot west lane for southbound traffic and into the east lane for southbound traffic approximately two to four feet when he was struck by the truck owned by Porter Kent and being driven by Rudolph Knight. In the truck with Rudolph Knight were two passengers or co-employees, viz., Johnny Jackson and William Walls.

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114 So. 2d 78, 1959 La. App. LEXIS 953, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/deason-v-greyhound-corp-lactapp-1959.