Thompson v. Powell

5 S.E.2d 260, 60 Ga. App. 796, 1939 Ga. App. LEXIS 175
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedOctober 21, 1939
Docket27681
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 5 S.E.2d 260 (Thompson v. Powell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thompson v. Powell, 5 S.E.2d 260, 60 Ga. App. 796, 1939 Ga. App. LEXIS 175 (Ga. Ct. App. 1939).

Opinions

Sutton, J.

E. H. Thompson brought suit against L. E. Powell Jr. and Henry W. Anderson, receivers of the Seaboard Air-Line Eailway Company, to recover damages caused by the alleged negligence of the defendant. It was alleged, that he was driving his automobile in Cedartown, Georgia, on Second Street, on January 21, 1938; that in order to get to his destination he had to cross the defendant’s tracks; that the approach to the crossing was a rather steep incline; that on his left or eastward his view was obstructed by a warehouse of the Cedartown Yarn Mills and by a string of box-cars which were placed near the street on a side-track of the defendant; that as he approached the crossing he slowed down, and, hearing no train coming, proceeded to mount the incline to the [797]*797crossing cautiously, and, due to the abrupt rise in the street and the pull which was necessary to be made to ascend to the tracks, he pressed down on the accelerator of his car to obtain the full horsepower of the car and to get up to the crossing and over it in the shortest possible time, he all the while using all ordinary care to see and determine whether or not a train was approaching from either direction; that he mounted the said incline and came upon the said tracks, and upon doing so discovered a train rapidly approaching from the east and from Cedartown; that he first observed the train when it was about 150 feet away, and as it came from behind the cars which were parked on the side-track south of the main line; that he immediately attempted to speed up his car, he being already on the main track, so that he might'escape being struck by the oncoming train, and in so doing the motor of the car went dead because of the sudden onrush of gasoline into the carburetor; that upon seeing that it would be impossible to get off the main line before the train struck, he quickly jumped out of the ear just in time to avoid being struck, the automobile being struck by the train, hurled clear of the tracks, and completely demolished; that the defendant was negligent, (a) in running the train at a reckless rate of speed through a thickly populated community and within the.limits of a municipality; (b) in failing to give any warning by bell, whistle, or otherwise; (c) in failing to check the speed of the train as it approached the crossing, at a time when the train was running late on its schedule, and at a time and place where the presence of others ought to have been anticipated; (d) in failing to keep a lookout ahead.

On the trial the plaintiff testified as follows: “On January 21, 1938, I was going, southward along Second Street in Cedartown, Georgia, towards the old Export Village. There- are about 65 houses over there. To get over to that part of the village south of the tracks I had to cross the Seaboard tracks. I have crossed these tracks several times in the past. There is a sharp incline in the road just before going onto the tracks. There are three tracks at this point. The track from Cedartown runs nearly straight until it reaches a point about 250 feet from Second Street when it turns southward and crosses Second Street on a straight line. According to steps it is 70 yards from Second Street back to the point of the curve. [At this juncture counsel for defendant agreed that the [798]*798engineer could see and did see the car on the crossing 150 feet before he reached the crossing.] On the day mentioned and at about 6 p. m. or 6.15 p. m., which was after dark, I was in my 1931 model-A Ford going in the direction of Norma' Williams’s house. There were cars on the first track on the north side of the main line right up to the crossing. The Cedartown Yarn Mills has a warehouse on the east side of Second Street, and the cars obscured my view so that I couldn’t see a train coming until I was already on the main line. I put my car in low gear and started across. When the front wheels had gone to the center of the main line, which was the second track, I saw the headlight of a Seaboard passenger-train coming about 150 feet away. This frightened me. I stopped because I thought I had not reached the main track. I discovered I was on the main track and stepped on the gas to go ahead, which killed the motor. I tried to crank the motor, but couldn’t. I jumped out and tried to push the car off the tracks, but couldn’t, and jumped away just in time to keep from getting struck myself. I didn’t hear any bell or whistle, except a distress signal which the engineer blew just before striking my car. The car was worth $250, and nothing at all afterwards. Everything happened so quickly I didn’t know just what did happen. When the train had stopped, the crossing was blocked by the last ear. There were four cars in the train, to the best of my recollection. I was going to a dance, and was going for my girl. I wasn’t in any hurry. My car was in better shape when it was struck by the train than it was when I bought it. It was a 1931 model-A Ford roadster and in good condition. I paid $150 and a Chevrolet car for it, and still owe $84 on it. Nothing went wrong with the car to cause it to stop the first time. After the front wheels of the car got on the main track and I saw the train coming, I thought it best to stop the car and voluntarily stopped it. If I had not stopped the car I could have either driven across or backed off the track and avoided the accident, but I did not realize I was on the mainline track until after I had voluntarily stopped the car on the track. When I realized that I had stopped the car on the main-line track I tried to start the car again, but put too much gas on and killed the motor. I then jumped out of the car and tried to push it off the track, and failing.to do this I jumped out of the way just before the train struck the car. The train was 150 feet away when I saw [799]*799it coming, and I stopped the car and tried to start it again and failed on account of putting too much gas, and then got out and tried to push the car off the track and jumped out of the way while the train was running 150 feet to the crossing.”

F. W. Jackson, who lived near the crossing, testified, that he heard the train blow for the Furnace Street crossing, about a quarter of a mile east of the Second Street crossing, and did not pay any more attention until he heard the distress signal some time before the train reached the Second Street crossing; that he never saw any one around the automobile until just before the engine struck, when he saw a man dart around the car back to the north side of the track; that at the time he first saw the car there was sufficient time for the car to have been driven off the track had the motor been running; that the train was stopped immediately after the crash; that he never noticed whether the train cleared the crossing or not; and that he thought the train was stopped as soon as possible.

J. H.

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Bluebook (online)
5 S.E.2d 260, 60 Ga. App. 796, 1939 Ga. App. LEXIS 175, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thompson-v-powell-gactapp-1939.