Ransdell v. Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority

185 Cal. App. 2d 335, 8 Cal. Rptr. 302, 1960 Cal. App. LEXIS 1511
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 17, 1960
DocketCiv. No. 24545
StatusPublished

This text of 185 Cal. App. 2d 335 (Ransdell v. Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ransdell v. Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority, 185 Cal. App. 2d 335, 8 Cal. Rptr. 302, 1960 Cal. App. LEXIS 1511 (Cal. Ct. App. 1960).

Opinion

WOOD, P. J.

This is an action for damages resulting from a collision of an interurban electric car and an automobile in an intersection of streets in Long Beach. The automobile was owned and operated by plaintiff Viola Ransdell; and plaintiff Mary Hall was a passenger therein. The electric car, which was a passenger car of defendant Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority, was operated by defendant Carl Rummans. Mrs. Ransdell and Mrs. Hall sought damages for personal injuries, and Mrs. Ransdell also sought damages for destruction of her automobile. Judgment, in accordance with verdicts, was for Mrs. Ransdell for $5,000, and was for Mrs. Hall for $25,000. Defendants’ motion for a new trial was denied, and they appeal from the judgment.

Appellants contend that the evidence was insufficient to support the judgment; the court erred in instructing the jury on the doctrine of last clear chance; and the damages awarded to Mrs. Hall were excessive.

The collision occurred in the intersection of American Avenue and 16th Street. American Avenue, which is 85 feet wide, extends northerly and southerly, and 16th Street, which is 36 feet wide, extends easterly and westerly. There is a double white line in the center of American Avenue, and on each side of the double white line there are three marked traffic lanes. Each inside traffic lane is approximately 12 feet wide, and each outside traffic lane is approximately 18 feet wide. In each traffic lane which is next to the double white line there is an electric car track. The inside rail of each track (that is, the rail nearer the center of American Avenue) is approximately 5 feet from the center of the avenue. The track west of the double line is used by southbound electric ears and [337]*337the track east of the line is used by northbound electric ears. At the north and south entrances to the intersection (that is, the entrances on American Avenue) there is a marked crosswalk which is approximately 12 feet wide. There is an official tricolored (red, yellow, green) traffic control signal on each corner of the intersection. American Avenue, between 14th and 16th Streets, is in a business district and is paved. The distance between 15th and 16th Streets is about 500 feet.

On Sunday, January 11, 1959, about 3:30 p.m., Mrs. Ransdell was driving her 1955 Ford automobile in a southerly direction on American, and Mr. Rummans was operating an interurban electric ear in a northerly direction on American. Mrs. Hall was in the automobile. While Mrs. Ransdell was approaching the intersection of American and 16th, she was in the southbound traffic lane which was next to the double white line. At that intersection she turned the automobile to the left intending to go east onto 16th. The automobile stopped when its front wheels were between the rails of the northbound track (track east of the center of American). While the automobile was stopped there, the electric ear struck the right front side of the automobile and pushed or dragged it 115 feet north. The place in the intersection where the collision occurred was approximately 12 feet south of the north curb-line of 16th Street and approximately 5 feet east of the center of American.

Mrs. Ransdell testified that when she was approaching the intersection and was about half a block north thereof the traffic “light was red” (for traffic on American), and she stopped between 30 and 40 feet north of the intersection; there were two automobiles in front of her in the lane in which she was traveling; the light changed to green for traffic on American and she “started up,” following the automobile in front of her; when she arrived at the intersection of American and 16th, the traffic “light was green” (for traffic on American) ; the signals of her automobile were “on” and “her hand was out” (indicating a left turn) ; the automobile in front of her made a left turn and she followed that automobile; when she turned, she saw the interurban car; it was “around” 15th Street (approximately 500 feet from her) ; after she turned, the automobile in front of her stopped suddenly; she applied the brakes and her automobile stopped; at that time the front wheels of her automobile were between the rails of the northbound electric car track; her automobile “stalled”, and she [338]*338tried to start it; after her automobile stalled, she heard the whistle of the interurban car, she “looked and saw” the car; it was then about half way between 15th and 16th Streets; she tried to start her automobile; she became frightened and “couldn’t do anything.”

Officer Taylor, a witness called by plaintiffs, testified that he was a motorcycle officer for the city of Long Beach; on January 11 he was on his motorcycle which was parked on the southeast corner of the intersection of American and 16th; about 3 :30 p.m. of that day he saw Mrs. Bansdell’s automobile ; it was stopped in the intersection on the ear track for northbound cars and was facing “in an easterly but slightly south direction”; he heard a street car bell ringing intermittently; shortly thereafter he heard the bell ringing constantly; then he looked toward the south and saw the interurban car coming toward the intersection; it was traveling between 25 and 30 miles an hour; he looked toward the automobile and it had not been moved from the place where it was when he saw it before he heard the bell; he looked again toward the interurban car ; the speed of the car had not decreased; he watched the car until it struck the automobile; he could not recall whether the speed of the car decreased before it struck the automobile; he estimated that it was “a good ten seconds” from the time the bell began to ring constantly until the time the car struck the automobile; he did not remember whether he heard the horn of the interurban car.

Officer Taylor referred to a photograph of the scene of the collision (which is an exhibit herein) and made a mark thereon indicating where the interurban car was when he heard the bell start to ring constantly and when first he saw the car. The location, as marked on the exhibit, was approximately 370 feet south of the intersection.

Mr. Varzak called as a witness by plaintiffs, testified that on January 11, he was in a used car lot which was on the west side of American and south of the intersection of American and 16th; he heard a horn blowing; he “looked and saw” the interurban car; it was traveling between 25 and 30 miles an hour; when the car was “10 to 20 feet” north of the place where he first saw it, it started to slide and it continued to slide until it struck Mrs. Bansdell’s automobile.

Mr. Yarzak made a mark on said photograph indicating where the interurban ear was when he first saw it. The loca[339]*339tion, as marked on the photograph, was approximately 110 feet south of the intersection.

Mrs. Brazil, called as a witness by plaintiffs, testified that on January 11, she was in a used car lot on the west side of American and south of the intersection of American and 16th; she heard the ringing of a bell and the blowing of a horn; a “minute or less” later when she saw the interurban car it was approximately 110 feet south of the intersection and was traveling 25 or 30 miles an hour; she did not “believe” that the speed of the ear changed, and she did not see the car strike the automobile.

Mrs. Jones, a witness called by plaintiffs, testified that on January 11 she was with Mrs.

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Bluebook (online)
185 Cal. App. 2d 335, 8 Cal. Rptr. 302, 1960 Cal. App. LEXIS 1511, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ransdell-v-los-angeles-metropolitan-transit-authority-calctapp-1960.