George v. Evans

405 S.W.2d 285, 1966 Ky. LEXIS 248
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976)
DecidedJuly 1, 1966
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 405 S.W.2d 285 (George v. Evans) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976) primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
George v. Evans, 405 S.W.2d 285, 1966 Ky. LEXIS 248 (Ky. 1966).

Opinions

HILL, Judge.

The appellant, Edwin Thomas George, Jr., appeals from a judgment awarding $8,000 to the appellee, John ■ F. Evans, administrator of the estate of Aline Beatrice Evans, as a result of an accident in which she was killed by a car driven by the appellant.

On June 26, 1962, appellant was driving on Fehr Avenue, a one-way street for eastbound traffic only. The accident occurred at the intersection of Campbell and Fehr streets in Louisville.

At the intersection, a traffic light controls traffic in all directions. The decedent, [286]*286Aline Beatrice Evans, a little girl six years and ten months of age and approximately three and one-half feet tall, was killed when struck by appellant’s automobile. Fehr Avenue runs east and west, and Campbell Street runs north and south. Fehr provides four nine-foot lanes; the two outside lanes allow parking. When not in use for parking, all four lanes are used by eastbound traffic.

Previous to the time of the accident, Mrs. Evans and her children, including the deceased, had been visiting at 722 Franklin Street. They had started home shortly before 5:00 p. m. and were proceeding south on the west side of Campbell on the sidewalk about a half block north of the intersection of Campbell and Fehr streets when the accident occurred. The mother was pushing a small baby in a Teeter-Tot. At the time of the accident, the mother was one-half block away from Aline as she and some of the other children ran ahead.

When the children reached the intersection of Campbell and Fehr, the traffic control light was red for traffic moving east through the intersection. Thus, there were cars heading east on Fehr in the first two lanes from its north curb waiting for the traffic light to change. The car in the second lane from the north curb of Fehr was driven by Robert Jackson, who witnessed the accident and later testified. A Mrs. Mantle was behind a truck in the line of cars in the lane next to the north curb of Fehr. The appellant was proceeding east on Fehr in the third lane from the north curb about “three or four” car lengths west of the crosswalk at about twenty or twenty-five miles per hour, according to his own testimony, when the light turned green for traffic traveling east on Fehr.

The deceased ran south from the northwest corner of Fehr and Campbell when the light was red for her and green for the traffic. She ran across the first traffic lane, which was against the north curb, and halfway through the second lane when the driver of the first car, Jackson, blew his horn and told her to go back to the north curb. At that time, she stopped and looked at Jackson momentarily and then proceeded, running across the crosswalk of Fehr when she was struck by appellant’s car. There were seven or eight cars in the second lane of traffic, it being the one in which Aline had stopped.

Appellant’s car was approximately eighteen inches from the right side of the Jackson car and was being driven in its proper lane. At the time of the accident, the Jackson car and all of the other cars in the first two lanes to the north had not started moving. About one-half block away, appellant said, he saw the traffic control light at Fehr and Campbell showing red, which caused him to slow his automobile gradually to approximately fifteen miles per hour. As he slowed down, the other cars to his left were at a standstill; the light changed to green in his favor, giving him the right-of-way when he was approximately five or six car lengths from the intersection. He proceeded to speed up to approximately twenty or twenty-five miles per hour and to go on through the intersection.

After striking deceased, he immediately applied his brakes, resulting in stopping his car with the front of his car even with the west line of the crosswalk on the east side of the intersection.

The deceased was knocked across the intersection with her body coming to rest four feet east of the east line of the east crosswalk of Fehr. The child died from injuries received in the accident.

The appellee introduced in evidence measurements taken by Professor W. _ R. McIntosh, a civil engineer and instructor at the University of Louisville. The meas-, urements tended to show that the Jackson car was some eleven feet from the deceased when she stopped in front of his automobile; that due to the make of the Jackson car, which was a Buick, and the appellant’s car, a Ford, the appellant should [287]*287have been able to observe and see the deceased if he had been keeping a proper lookout.

The appellant contends that he was entitled to a directed verdict because there was no negligence proven on his part as the decedent suddenly darted out in front of appellant’s car. He was driving at a speed of twenty to twenty-five miles per hour and had his car under such control that he stopped it after the accident within thirty to thirty-six feet. Appellant contends he could not have anticipated that this child would suddenly dart from in front of the Jackson car into the path of his car.

Appellant testified he did not see deceased until the very moment of impact. Having traveled Fehr Avenue to get to his home, appellant admitted he was familiar with traffic conditions, the presence of pedestrians in the vicinity of Fehr Avenue and Campbell Street, and that one block away a housing project contained about five hundred families where children could be expected.

Deceased being under the age of seven years at the time of her injury and death was not chargeable with contributory negligence. Appellant pleaded contributory negligence on the part of the mother of deceased. All the evidence on this question was peculiarly within the knowledge of the mother. She testified she cautioned deceased to wait for her at Fehr Avenue. Her evidence later on was confusing as to when or whether she cautioned the deceased to wait; but conceding ar-guendo that it was two blocks away, the question of contributory negligence was a matter for the jury to determine, and its verdict absolved the mother of fault. We cannot say as a matter of law that the verdict is not supported by substantial evidence.

We now undertake to examine the facts to determine whether the finding of negligence on the part of appellant was justified. It is true appellant had the “green light” authorizing him to proceed; but he was in motion, traveling at about fifteen miles an hour when the green light came on. From his own testimony, he was from forty to sixty feet back of the crosswalk when the green light flashed his signal to proceed. He had a right to proceed. In doing so, he remained under three important duties and those were to (a) keep a lookout ahead; (b) travel at a reasonable rate of speed, and (c) keep his vehicle under reasonable control. Did he observe these duties? The answer to this question must take into account all the circumstances. The first, and perhaps the most salient circumstance, was the fact that the entire line of traffic in appellant’s left lane of traffic had not moved. Of course, that could have been attributable to a stalled motor or some other cause. But another logical reason, which was the real reason in this case, for its failure to move when the green light appeared was that a pedestrian was in the crosswalk. A person in the crosswalk travels about four to five feet per second, while one traveling-in a motor vehicle at twenty-five miles art hour will travel 29.4 feet.

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George v. Evans
405 S.W.2d 285 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1966)

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Bluebook (online)
405 S.W.2d 285, 1966 Ky. LEXIS 248, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/george-v-evans-kyctapphigh-1966.