Roy v. St. Louis-S. F. Ry. Co.

1931 OK 652, 4 P.2d 1038, 153 Okla. 270, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 456
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 27, 1931
Docket20597
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 1931 OK 652 (Roy v. St. Louis-S. F. Ry. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roy v. St. Louis-S. F. Ry. Co., 1931 OK 652, 4 P.2d 1038, 153 Okla. 270, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 456 (Okla. 1931).

Opinion

RILEY, J.

This is an action commenced by plaintiff in error to recover damages for the alleged wrongful death of Thomas A. Roy, who was killed in a collision between one of the defendant’s trains and a motor car being operated upon the railroad track by one Lancaster, section foreman, and upon which Roy, who was an employee working on the section under said Lancaster, was riding. It was the same accident as the one out of which the case of Lancaster, Adm’x. v. St. L. & S. F. Ry. Co., 128 Okla. 176, 261 P. 960, arose. The record in the instant case, with certain exceptions, discloses a case substantially the same as that case, and the statement of facts concerning the accident will be found therein. Demurrer ‘to plaintiff’s evidence was sustained in the instant case as there. The same principles of law there stated are applicable in the instant case. We deem it unnecessary to again review these questions discussed therein, and deem it sufficient to apply the principles of law there applied. The only questions presented In this case that were not settled in the Lancaster Case, supra, are on the correctness of the ruling of the trial court in excluding certain evidence offered by plaintiff, and the sufficiency of certain evidence going to the charge contained in plaintiff’s petition as to the alleged negligence of defendant after the discovery of the peril of the deceased.

It appears that, after the accident, the brakeman on defendant’s train remained at the scene for sometime after the train had gone. Sometime, estimated by the witness as from 40 minutes to one hour, after the accident, the witness Beadles went to the scene of the accident and found the brake *271 man there. In support of plaintiff’s allegations of negligence, plaintiff sought to prove by this witness a statement made to him by the brakeman. With reference to the attempted proof, the following record was made:

“Q. You say you saw the brakeman there? A. This man said he was a brakeman. G He was the railroad man in charge there when you got there? A. He said he was, yes, sir. Q. I will ask you to state what statement, if anything, he made with reference to when he saw the parties and what he did and how it happened. By Mr. Franklin: Wait a minute, we object as incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial, not part of the res gestae, hearsay, and not binding on the defendant in this case. By Mr. Bandell: We offer it as part of the res gestae. By the Court: W'hat who said? By Mr. Bandell: What the man in charge there, brakeman, party claimed to be in charge there, that he saw the bodies wera there untouched, he was the man there in charge of the matter. By the Court: Objection sustained. Exception allowed. By Mr. Bandell: If your Honor please, can I show dictating it into the record, may I show what I offer to prove? By the Court: Yes, sir. By Mr. Bandell: We offer to show that his answer would be that this brakeman on the leading end of the train told him that he first saw them approaching in the motor car when he was seven times the distance between telephone poles, in substance, and that they were engaged in working on the car evidently and didn’t see him and didn’t seem to hear the. alarm, but were in that position until the train struck them.”

The admissibility of evidence as a part of the res gestae depends largely upon the circumstances of the particular case. But it has been said by this court that the rule is universal that to be admissible as part of the res gestae, statements must be substantially contemporaneous with the transaction; made on the spur of the moment; and induced by the happening of the events concerning which such statements are made, and not a narrative statement of what has occurred. M., O. & G. Ry. Co. v. Adams, 52 Okla. 559, 153 P. 200. and cases therein cited.

Generally it may be said that to render statements made by an employee of a corporation admissible as a part of the ires gestae, they must appear to be spontaneous and so connected with the main fact under consideration as to illustrate its character, or to form, in conjunction with it, one continuous transaction. Coalgate Co. v. Hurst, 25 Okla. 588, 107 P. 657.

The showing here made does not bring the evidence offered within the rule stated above.

It was contended that the court erred in refusing to admit the testimony of a-witness concerning a statement made by Lancaster to Boy while at the tool house at Sulphur, and just before departing on their journey back to their work, during which trip the accident occurred in which both lost their lives. The evidence which plaintiff offered and which the court denied was, in substance, that Lancaster had stated to his wife in the presence of Boy that he could not wait and must 'hurry back, and turning to Boy said: “I gave instructions to hold the train until we got back and must hurry back and not delay it.”

This was not a statement made by the section foreman tending to show his knowledge of a defect in any of the instrumentalities connected with the injury as was the case in Schumann v. Mealiff, 178 Ill. App. 254, and Parrish v. Richardson (N. C.) 97 S. E. 225, cited and relied upon by plaintiff.

As to whether the order to hold the train was given by Lancaster was pure hearsay. There was no other evidence tending to show that such order was given. It would seem that if plaintiff desired to prove that such order was given, she should have brought some witness who heard it. Mere statements made to third parties by the foreman that he had given the order, or such statements made by the party to whom it was claimed to have been given that such order had been received by him, would be hearsay and inadmissible. There was no error in rejecting the evidence offered.

Finally, it is contended that there was evidence sufficient to take the case to the jury upon the question of negligence after discovered peril. The testimony of one witness is relied upon on this point. One Earl Black testified, in substance, that he was riding in the cab of the engine with the engineer and fireman; that his father, who was deceased at the time of the trial, but who was an employee of the defendant at the time of the accident, was also riding in the cab of the engine; that the train consisted of two coaches, a box ear, engine, and tender; that the train was being pushed backward by the engine, that is, the engine and tender were behind pushing instead of being in. front pulling* the ears, and that the. engine was also moving backward with the cab next to the cars; that shortly before the accident he heard a small air whistle sound in the cab' of the engine; that there was also an air whistle at the other end of the train. That these two whistles were so arranged and so connected with the air line that when one would be sounded the other would sound at the same time. That is, that the two whistles could be sounded either by one in the cab of the engine or by a *272

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Bluebook (online)
1931 OK 652, 4 P.2d 1038, 153 Okla. 270, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 456, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roy-v-st-louis-s-f-ry-co-okla-1931.