Grass v. Hill

418 N.E.2d 1133, 94 Ill. App. 3d 709, 50 Ill. Dec. 139, 1981 Ill. App. LEXIS 2331
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 27, 1981
Docket80-118
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 418 N.E.2d 1133 (Grass v. Hill) 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
Grass v. Hill, 418 N.E.2d 1133, 94 Ill. App. 3d 709, 50 Ill. Dec. 139, 1981 Ill. App. LEXIS 2331 (Ill. Ct. App. 1981).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE VAN DEUSEN

delivered the opinion of the court:

The plaintiffs, Pauline Grass and her husband Raymond J. Grass, appeal from a judgment entered on a jury verdict in a personal injury action resulting from an automobile accident in which Pauline Grass sustained serious bodily injuries. The jury rendered a general verdict in favor of the defendant, David Hill, and against the plaintiffs. The jury also answered a special interrogatory finding Pauline Grass guilty of contributory negligence. On appeal, the plaintiffs contend that the trial court erred in denying their post-trial motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or alternatively, for a new trial. They also assert that the trial court committed reversible error in instructing the jury and in refusing to admit into evidence the defendant’s original answer.

The accident in question occurred at approximately 7:30 a.m. on May 10, 1976, at the intersection of Spring Creek Road and Shaw Road in Boone County. At the time of the accident both roads were two-lane rural highways, each of which had one lane for traffic in each direction. Spring Creek Road was a paved, through highway which ran east and west, while Shaw Road was a gravel road which ran in a north-south direction. On that particular morning, the weather was clear and the pavement was dry. At that time on Spring Creek Road, there were no signs indicating the presence of the intersection, nor were there any pavement markings prohibiting westbound vehicles from passing near the intersection. A photograph in evidence disclosed that the intersection was clearly visible from a distance of 400 feet. Pauline Grass, who had been proceeding westerly along Spring Creek Road, was in the process of turning left from Spring Creek Road onto Shaw Road when her vehicle was struck by that of the defendant. The defendant was travelling westbound in the eastbound lane of Spring Creek Road and was attempting to pass three westbound vehicles, including the Grass automobile, when he collided with the vehicle being driven by Mrs. Grass.

Pauline Grass testified that she did not remember what had occurred on May 10, 1976, at or before the time of the intersectional collision. She had no recollection of the accident or of being on Spring Creek Road on the day in question.

On the morning of the accident, Nancy Hennelly was travelling west on Spring Creek Road behind the Grass vehicle. At least one other car was behind the Hennelly automobile. When she first approached the Grass automobile, approximately three blocks east of where the collision occurred, the vehicle was travelling at 30-35 m.p.h. As the Grass vehicle continued westbound, it slowed down further to make a left turn. Hennelly, who was following the Grass automobile at a car length’s distance, was aware that this vehicle immediately in front of her was going to turn, even though she did not remember or could not recall seeing any turn signals or brake lights activated on the Grass vehicle prior to its turn. Upon cross-examination, she stated that while she might have had some warning that the Grass vehicle was preparing to turn one way or the other, she did not recall any such warning. The Grass vehicle was proceeding slowly when it started to turn left at the intersection. The Grass vehicle was in the middle of the eastbound lane of traffic on Spring Creek Road when it was struck by the defendant’s automobile. Hennelly stated that the defendant’s vehicle, which had passed her a second before the accident, was proceeding quite a bit faster than the other vehicles, approximately 50-55 m.p.h. In addition, she did not recall seeing another car pass the Grass automobile before the intersection and did not recall hearing the sound of a horn before the accident.

Crystalline Wilcox was also westbound on Spring Creek Road on the morning of the collision. She testified she was travelling at 35 m.p.h. and was proceeding behind three other westbound vehicles. The Grass vehicle was the farthest from her; an unidentified vehicle was proceeding directly behind the Grass car, and the Hennelly automobile was travelling immediately in front of the Wilcox vehicle. As the Grass vehicle approached the intersection of Spring Greek and Shaw Roads, the car immediately behind it passed the Grass car. As that car passed the Grass automobile, Wilcox noticed that the Grass vehicle had its left turn signal on. Almost simultaneously she saw the defendant’s car start to pass her; she applied her brakes and sounded her horn to warn the drivers of the Hill and Grass vehicles of the impending accident. The Grass vehicle was in the eastbound lane on Spring Creek Road and was attempting to turn from Spring Creek Road onto Shaw Road, when it was hit broadside by the Hill automobile. Wilcox did not see the Hill vehicle before it passed her. Wilcox’s deposition testimony, which was introduced at trial, indicates that she was approximately 100 feet from the intersection when she first noticed the turn signal on the Grass car and saw the Hill vehicle alongside her in the eastbound lane of Spring Creek Road.

The plaintiff called the defendant, David Hill, as a witness under section 60 of the Civil Practice Act. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 110, par. 60.) He testified that on the morning in question he was westbound on Spring Creek Road travelling at approximately 55 m.p.h. As he came over the crest of a hill, about 1500 feet east of the intersection of Shaw and Spring Creek Roads, he noticed three other westbound vehicles which were travelling at a slower rate of speed. At the pretrial deposition he estimated their speed to be 30-40 m.p.h. Two or three hundred feet before he reached the Wilcox vehicle, he signalled and pulled out into the eastbound lane to pass the string of cars. As he did so, he increased his speed to between 60 and 65 m.p.h. After he got into the eastbound lane, he removed his foot from the accelerator, and as he started to pass the vehicles he was proceeding at a constant speed of approximately 60 m.p.h.

As he was approaching the three vehicles, and seconds before he began to pass the Wilcox car, he noticed that the brake lights of the Wilcox automobile came on. On cross-examination, Hill stated he was in the eastbound lane attempting to pass when he first noticed the brake lights on the Wilcox vehicle. As he began to pass the Wilcox vehicle he observed that it began to pull over onto the shoulder of Spring Creek Road. When he looked back onto the highway, he saw the Grass vehicle beginning to make its turn south onto Shaw Road. At this point he was approximately 100 feet from the intersection and was travelling between 55 and 60 m.p.h. He applied his brakes and tried to swerve to miss the Grass vehicle, which was mostly in the eastbound lane of Spring Creek Road and partially onto Shaw Road. Hill estimated that the Grass car was travelling 5 or 10 m.p.h. when it began to turn left at the intersection.

Hill further testified that he checked all the cars in the group he was about to pass for any flashing lights, turn signals or brake lights. He did not see any turn signals coming from any of the three vehicles preceding him. However, Hill did state that at the scene of the accident he overheard Mrs. Wilcox say that Mrs. Grass had her turn signal on. He also stated that visibility was good on the morning of the accident and nothing in his automobile was obscuring his vision. He indicated that, prior to the accident, he was not familiar with the intersection in question.

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

Related

Estate of Strocchia v. City of Chicago
672 N.E.2d 919 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1996)
Young v. State
48 Ill. Ct. Cl. 416 (Court of Claims of Illinois, 1996)
Illinois Bell Telephone Co. v. City of Highland Park
572 N.E.2d 1267 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1991)
Chevrie v. Gruesen
567 N.E.2d 629 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1991)
Singer v. Schmudde
528 N.E.2d 234 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1988)
Chladek v. Albon
515 N.E.2d 191 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1987)
Pankow v. Mitchell
737 S.W.2d 293 (Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 1987)
Williamson v. City of Springfield
465 N.E.2d 1035 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1984)
Reuter v. Kocan
446 N.E.2d 882 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1983)
Agnello v. Puzzo
443 N.E.2d 648 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1982)
Wainwright v. Truckenmiller
421 N.E.2d 1026 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1981)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
418 N.E.2d 1133, 94 Ill. App. 3d 709, 50 Ill. Dec. 139, 1981 Ill. App. LEXIS 2331, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grass-v-hill-illappct-1981.