Jones v. Bagwell

207 N.C. 378
Supreme Court of North Carolina·Decided November 21, 1934·Published·Cited by 27 cases

Opinion

ClaeKsoN, J.

At the close of plaintiff’s evidence the defendant made a motion for judgment as in case of nonsuit. C. S., 567. The court below sustained the motion, and in this we think there was error.

Upon motion as of nonsuit all the evidence is to be considered in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and he is entitled to every reasonable intendment thereon and every reasonable inference to be drawn therefrom.

It is well settled that the evidence must be more than a scintilla to be submitted to the jury. If it only raises a suspicion, a conjecture, a guess, a surmise, a speculation, it is not sufficient. Denny v. Snow, 199 N. C., 773 (774).

N. C. Code of 1931 (Michie), sec. 2618, in part, is as follows: “No person shall operate a motor vehicle upon the public highways of this State recklessly, or at a rate of speed greater than is. reasonable and proper, having regard to the width, traffic, and use of the highway, or so as to endanger the property or the life or limb of any person: Provided, that no person shall operate a motor vehicle on any public highway, road, or street of this State at a rate of speed in excess of:

“(A) Twenty miles per hour in the built-up residential section of any village, town, or city: Provided, that on any highway, road, or street entering any city, town, or village the built-up residential section shall be construed to begin at the first point, between which point and a point one thousand feet away on said street, road, or highway where there are as many as eight residences.” . . . Part of (F) is as follows: “The governing body of every incorporated city or town shall have authority, by ordinance, to make reasonable street-crossing regulations.” Public Laws of 1925, ch. 272.

[382]*382Section 2617 (a), in part, is as follows: “This act shall not interfere with the regulations prescribed by towns and cities.” Public Laws of 1927, ch. 120. See sec. 2621 (46).

Section 5 of the Traffic Ordinances of the city of Raleigh 'is as follows: “It shall be the duty of every person driving or operating any vehicle to obey instantly any directions that may be given by a traffic officer; to slow down upon approaching each street intersection or pedestrian in the street so as to pass such intersection or pedestrian at a speed not exceeding ten miles per hou-r; and in the ease of a motor vehicle or street car, to sound the horn or bell of such vehicle or car, in warning upon the approaching of Hillsboro Street and G-lenwood Avenue, to slow such vehicle or street ear to five miles an hour, to sound horn or bell.” (Italics ours.)

In Hendrix v. R. R., 198 N. C., 142 (144), is the following: “It is well settled in this jurisdiction that the violation of a town or city ordinance, or State statute, is negligence per se, but the violation must be the proximate cause of the injury. Ordinarily this is a question for the jury, if there is any evidence, but, if there is no evidence that the violation of the ordinance or statute is the proximate cause of the injury, this is for the court to determine.” There must be a causal connection between the violation of the statute and the injury inflicted. Burke v. Coach Co., 198 N. C., 8 (13).

Was there any or sufficient evidence to be submitted to the jury that defendant was exceeding the speed limit contrary to the law of the road? We think so. The evidence on the.part of plaintiff was not direct, but circumstantial, yet under well-settled law he was entitled to every reasonable inference to be drawn from the evidence.

The testimony of Neill Hester was to the effect that he was driving a Model-T Ford sedan on Hillsboro Street, traveling east towards the Capitol, approximately one-half block away — some 200 feet — running fifteen to twenty miles per hour.

He further testified, in part: “The first indication I had of this accident was when I noticed two headlights approaching me approximately half a block away, and there was a jerk to this side; that would be toward my left, or toward the east side. No, it would be to the south side of Hillsboro Street; but when I noticed the lights going out I was not impressed even with that that an accident had occurred until I had traveled almost the length of the block going east, when I noticed a form, appearing to be a human form, lying in the middle of the car track. Then I saw somebody had been hit. ... I saw the person, when I got there, was apparently dead or unconscious. I did not examine his pulse to see if he were dead or not. There was a trickle of blood from under his head about five or six inches long. About that [383]*383time I noticed a ear up tbe block, west from where tbe form lay, and I started up there to see if that was tbe car that figured in tbe accident, and got about one-tbird of tbe distance when I met a man walking towards me or towards tbe form, whom I later learned was Mr. Bagwell. I did not know him personally then. ... I kept on going until I came to this car and went around to- tbe front end of it and saw that the right headlight teas mashed in and bent back, and that satisfied me. . . . From tbe time I saw tbe lights go out on Mr. Bagwell’s car, until I parked in front of tbe A. & P. store, I did not see any cars pass going either in an easterly or westerly direction. . . . The car that struck this body was traveling west. To tbe best of my recollection, tbe bead was lying west and tbe feet east. It was almost in a straight line between tbe car tracks. In other words, tbe body was lying on a north and south line in tbe north car tracks. ... I presume that when tbe lights went out is when tbe body fell; that was tbe conclusion I arrived at, but I don’t know. ... I should say that a person with ordinary vision, driving an automobile in a westerly direction at that point, could see everything that was at that intersection. ... I was across tbe bridge when tbe lights went out on Mr. Bagwell’s car — I’d say 200 feet or more away.”

M. F. Arnold testified, in part: “I just saw tbe spot of blood and tbe parked car. Tbe spot of blood was right in this track (indicating on map), where this track goes to tbe barn. It was on tbe north side of Hillsboro. ... I examined tbe place carefully. I saw Mr. Bag-well’s car and stepped tbe distance from tbe place I found tbe blood stains to bis car. As I remember, it was 71 steps. . . . The headlights were broken on the car. . . . Tbe right front main headlight was bent back or around.” He further testified that, on tbe former trial, Bagwell told him plaintiff’s intestate “jumped out in front of bis car and be could not avoid bitting him.”

E. M. Waring testified, in part: “I was standing in front of tbe Manhattan Lunch Room on tbe corner of tbe intersection between, or on tbe corner of tbe intersection of Grlenwood Avenue and Hillsboro Street, which is one block from tbe intersection of Hillsboro and West streets. I was standing on tbe south side of Hillsboro Street looking toward tbe north side, drinking a coca-cola.

“My attention was attracted by hearing a thud as though a car struck a rough place in the street or hit something. It sounded like it might have bit a bag or something. I turned and saw this car come to a stop. I turned instantly upon bearing tbe noise. I turned to my right; to tbe east of where I was standing, and saw tbe automobile coming to a stop. I would say it was going between thirty and forty miles cm hour when I first saw it, and coming to a stop. That was just a fraction of a second

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Jones v. Bagwell, 207 N.C. 378 (N.C. 1934).

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