Prasek v. Dudley

395 S.W.2d 876, 1965 Tex. App. LEXIS 2205
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 23, 1965
Docket122
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 395 S.W.2d 876 (Prasek v. Dudley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Prasek v. Dudley, 395 S.W.2d 876, 1965 Tex. App. LEXIS 2205 (Tex. Ct. App. 1965).

Opinion

GREEN, Chief Justice.

Appellant Adolph Edward Prasek, plaintiff below, sued appellee W. W. Dudley, defendant below, to recover for personal injuries and property damages sustained in an automobile collision on July 24, 1961, at the intersection of Jackson (Highway 59) and Merchant Streets in El Campo, Wharton County, Texas. The parties will hereafter be designated as in the trial court. Both plaintiff and defendant were volunteer firemen, and it was stipulated at the close of the evidence in the trial court that both parties were, at the time of the accident, driving authorized emergency vehicles and that each was proceeding to a fire in response to an emergency call.

The jury found each party guilty of negligence proximately causing the collision. Based on such verdict, the trial court rendered judgment for the defendant. Plaintiff timely presented his motion for new trial, based in part on jury misconduct. The motion was overruled, and plaintiff has appealed.

The collision occurred about 8:30 o’clock P.M. Defendant was driving east on Jackson Street, a main thoroughfare in El Cam- *879 po, which is also the highway leading from Victoria and points south to Houston. There is evidence that because of the alarm, the traffic lights on Jackson Street had been locked all four ways red by a control switch at the fire house, and defendant testified and the evidence showed that he drove through several red lights at a fast speed as he was proceeding to the fire.

Plaintiff approached and entered the intersection headed south on Merchant Street at a rate of speed variously estimated by witnesses at from 10 to 35 miles per hour. The evidence conflicted on whether he entered on a red or green light. The two cars collided near the center of the intersection, as a result of which plaintiff received serious injuries.

In response to issues submitted, the jury found that defendant (1) turned to right just before collision, but it was not a proximate cause; (2) that he did not fail to turn left just before the collision; (3) that he operated his vehicle at a high, dangerous, and excessive rate of speed, and that it was a proximate cause; (4) that he properly applied his brakes; (5) that he was driving at a greater speed than a person of ordinary prudence would have driven under the circumstances, and that it was a proximate cause; (6) that defendant kept a proper lookout; (7) that defendant failed to slow down as necessary for safety on approaching the intersection, and it was a proximate cause; (8) that defendant did not fail to yield the right of way to plaintiff; (9) that defendant did not discover the perilous position of plaintiff within time to avoid the collision.

The jury found that plaintiff (1) failed to keep a proper lookout, and it was a proximate cause; (2) that he failed to properly apply his brakes, and it was a proximate cause; (3) that he operated his vehicle at a speed which should not have been employed under the circumstances, and it was a proximate cause; (4) that he failed to yield the right of way to defendant, however, no proximate cause issues were submitted; (5) that the traffic light was “red” when plaintiff entered the intersection; (6) that plaintiff failed to slow down as necessary for safety on approaching the red light, and it was a proximate cause and negligence; (7) that he failed to slow down or proceed with caution past the red light, and it was a proximate cause and negligence; (8) and, that plaintiff suffered damages of $14,600.00, and property damage of $800.00.

The jury further found that defendant’s vehicle was equipped with a red light visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of 500 feet to the front of the vehicle; that defendant’s vehicle was equipped with a siren emitting an audible signal which could have been heard by an ordinary person similarly situated as plaintiff; that just before the collision defendant was faced with a sudden emergency, and operated his vehicle accordingly, and that such sudden emergency was not the sole proximate cause of the collision; and, that such collision was not the result of an unavoidable accident.

Plaintiff’s first five points allege error in the trial court’s failure to disregard the jury findings that (1) the plaintiff failed to keep a proper lookout, and proximate cause; (2) he failed to make proper application of his brakes, and proximate cause; (3) he operated his vehicle at an excessive rate of speed under the circumstances, and proximate cause; (4) he did not yield the right of way, and (5) the traffic light facing plaintiff was red as he entered the intersection. His points are based on the proposition that there was no evidence to support such findings, and that they were against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence so as to be manifestly wrong and unjust, and, as to issue No. 33 finding that plaintiff failed to yield the right of way, that no negligence or proximate cause issues were submitted to the jury. Plaintiff’s 15th, 17th, and 21st points complain of error in the court’s instructions on issue 19, inquiring whether defendant failed to yield the right of way, and on is *880 sue 33. Point 16 complains of the submission of issue 34, inquiring whether the traffic light was red, or was it green, facing plaintiff as he entered the intersection, and of the succeeding issues conditioned on a finding that the light was red.

Plaintiff testified by deposition that he did not see defendant’s car until it had actually hit him, although the evidence is clear, and the jury found, that defendant was coming noisily down the highway at a fast rate of speed with a red light flashing to the front, and there was nothing between plaintiff and defendant as plaintiff entered the intersection to prevent him seeing and hearing the other car and properly applying his brakes in time to prevent the accident. He testified his eyesight and hearing were good, and that he could see “quite a ways” to his right, the direction from which defendant was coming.

Although plaintiff testified he applied his brakes and slowed down to about 10 miles per hour as he entered the intersection, other eye witnesses testified he never reduced his speed from the time he approached the intersection until the occurrence of the collision. Two witnesses testified to the effect that the light facing plaintiff was red at the time of the collision, although other witnesses gave testimony that it was green. Other testimony, to be discussed later, was introduced to show that the traffic lights on Jackson Street were locked on four way red when the fire alarm was sounded. Whether the rate of speed at which the plaintiff entered the intersection was greater than that at which a man of reasonable prudence in the exercise of ordinary care would have entered under the same or similar circumstances was a fact issue under the testimony to be determined by the jury. The same is true with reference to the matter of proper application of the brakes, proper lookout, and the question of the color of the light facing plaintiff as he entered the intersection.

The right of way issues were submitted under the provisions of Vernon’s Ann.Civ. St., art. 6701d, § 75(a), subdiv.

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Bluebook (online)
395 S.W.2d 876, 1965 Tex. App. LEXIS 2205, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/prasek-v-dudley-texapp-1965.