Grote v. Estate of Franklin

573 N.E.2d 360, 214 Ill. App. 3d 261, 157 Ill. Dec. 942, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 932
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided June 5, 1991·No. 2-90-1015·Published·Cited by 19 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE INGLIS

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, Diana E. Grote, filed a complaint against defendant, the estate of Margaret S. Franklin, alleging that Margaret (the decedent) negligently operated her motor vehicle, causing the decedent to cross the center line and hit plaintiff’s vehicle head-on. Defendant filed an affirmative defense alleging that an “Act of God” was the sole or proximate cause of the accident. Defendant then moved for summary judgment on its affirmative defense, which the trial court granted. Plaintiff timely appeals, raising the following issues: (1) whether the trial court properly considered expert opinions in granting summary judgment, and (2) whether, as a matter of law, an “Act of God” was the sole proximate cause of the motor vehicle accident involving plaintiff and the decedent. We affirm.

The accident at issue occurred on March 14, 1989, at approximately 12:25 p.m. in Kane County, Illinois. According to the traffic accident report prepared by police officer David Reese, plaintiff’s vehicle was traveling northbound on Route 25 prior to the accident, and the decedent’s vehicle was traveling southbound on Route 25. The impact between the two vehicles took place in the northbound lane of Route 25.

Michael Henningson saw the decedent’s vehicle prior to the accident. According to his statement, Henningson was traveling southbound a few vehicles behind the decedent. The decedent was traveling at a very slow rate of speed, and several vehicles that were following her had passed her. Henningson stated that he witnessed the decedent’s vehicle cross the yellow center line into oncoming northbound traffic. A northbound Yugo came to a complete stop in the northbound lane. The decedent’s vehicle struck the Yugo and then veered back into the southbound lane. Henningson could not tell whether the decedent’s return to the southbound lane was a conscious steering effort or whether it was from the impact of hitting the Yugo.

Henningson stated that the decedent’s vehicle continued traveling at a slow rate of speed for another 75 to 80 yards before it veered over into the northbound lane again. Henningson reported that the decedent’s vehicle went up on the side of the road and knocked over a mailbox. It was headed for a “Welcome to St. Charles” sign when it took a definite maneuver towards going back on the road. The decedent’s vehicle accelerated up to a much greater rate of speed and veered back over into the correct southbound lane. There was then a curve in the road, and the decedent’s vehicle was out of Henningson’s sight. When Henningson completed the curve, he saw that the decedent’s vehicle had collided with the plaintiff’s.

Sue Anderson stated that she was traveling northbound on Route 25 on the day in question. Anderson stated that the two vehicles traveling in front of her had pulled off to the side of the road, which caused her to pull over. Anderson then saw the decedent’s southbound vehicle coming into the northbound lane. Anderson explained that the decedent’s vehicle was traveling at a slow rate of speed. After the decedent’s vehicle passed her, Anderson looked in her rearview mirror and saw that the decedent’s vehicle was completely in the wrong lane. Anderson then saw the decedent’s vehicle go off the road and hit a mailbox. Anderson stated that when the vehicle hit the mailbox, the driver was sitting upright, and Anderson could see the back of the person’s head. Anderson said that after hitting the mailbox, the decedent’s vehicle then started back across the roadway.

William Durrenberger also saw the decedent’s vehicle prior to the accident at issue. According to the statement given by Durrenberger, he was a passenger in a car which was traveling northbound on Route 25. Durrenberger said he first saw the decedent’s vehicle when it was one-fourth to one-half mile away. He said it soon became apparent that the decedent’s vehicle was in the wrong lane of traffic and was traveling approximately 40 to 60 miles per hour. Durrenberger told his friend, the driver of the vehicle in which he was riding, to honk the horn, which the driver did. Durrenberger stated that the decedent’s vehicle did not react to them; instead, it maintained its rate of speed and continued as if it were supposed to be in the wrong lane. Durrenberger stated that the decedent’s vehicle was able to negotiate a slight bend in the road.

Durrenberger said that his friend slowed their car down to 5 to 15 miles per hour and pulled the car half way up onto the curb. After the decedent’s car passed them, Durrenberger’s friend looked in his rear-view mirror and saw that there had been an accident. They turned their car around to go to the scene of the accident. Durrenberger stated that, when they arrived at the scene, he went to the decedent’s vehicle to see if there was anything he could do. The decedent had slid down underneath the steering column and her head was lying on the passenger seat looking up towards the ceiling. While Durrenberger stated that there was no indication that the decedent was still conscious, he said that her eyes were open and her lips were “kind of quivering a little bit.” Durrenberger opined that the decedent must have hit something with her face because there was blood on her face and one of her eyes had been “pounded pretty bad.”

Terry Heiland witnessed the decedent’s vehicle strike the plaintiff’s. According to his statement, Heiland noticed the decedent’s vehicle when he first turned onto the southbound lane of Route 25. Heiland saw the decedent’s vehicle about one-fourth to one-half mile behind him traveling about five miles per hour. The vehicle was on the west side of Route 25, off the road and into the grassy area. Heiland said that he saw the vehicle drive over a mailbox. Heiland proceeded southbound around a curve in the road and lost sight of the decedent’s vehicle. Subsequently, Heiland saw the decedent’s vehicle in his rearview mirror as it was coming around the curve. Heiland stated that the vehicle appeared to be in control and was traveling south at approximately 30 miles per hour in the northbound lane. Heiland turned off Route 25 and into a driveway. When he looked up, he saw the decedent’s vehicle strike the plaintiff’s. Heiland stated that he did not hear either vehicle use its brakes. Heiland said that he went over to the decedent’s vehicle and saw her lying down behind the steering wheel; the decedent had blood on the bridge of her nose.

In a statement given by Jeffrey Lewis Finley, an off-duty police officer, Finley indicated that, in the afternoon on the date of the subject accident, it was cloudy but dry and the temperature was in the 40’s. Finley stated that he was traveling north on Route 25, heading toward St. Charles. Finley explained that Route 25 is a two-lane highway, with one lane of traffic in each direction and a marked center line.

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Grote v. Estate of Franklin, 573 N.E.2d 360, 214 Ill. App. 3d 261, 157 Ill. Dec. 942, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 932 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

573 N.E.2d 360 (Grote v. Estate of Franklin) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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