Untiedt v. St. Louis Southwestern Railway Co.

440 S.W.2d 251, 246 Ark. 941, 1969 Ark. LEXIS 1329
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMay 12, 1969
Docket5-4893
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 440 S.W.2d 251 (Untiedt v. St. Louis Southwestern Railway Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Untiedt v. St. Louis Southwestern Railway Co., 440 S.W.2d 251, 246 Ark. 941, 1969 Ark. LEXIS 1329 (Ark. 1969).

Opinion

Conley Byrd, Justice.

Appellant Willis T. Untiedt sued St. Louis Southwestern Railway Co. for the dam.ages. .that, occurred to his tandem lowboy truck after it became trapped .on the railroad tracks at the Highway 88 crossing in Altheimer. The trial court directed a verdict for the railroad. Untiedt for reversal claims that there was sufficient evidence to take the' case to the jury on the failure to keep a lookout and the statutory duty of the railway company to maintain the approaches to its tracks at the crossing.

The appellee’s tracks in the City of Altheimer run from southwest to northeast. Its trains are controlled -by a •■dispatcher in Pine Bluff through the use of signal blocks. A train from Pine Bluff approaching Altheimer commences to blow its horn at the Cotton Center crossing described as being 15 pole lengths from the Highway •88- crossing. A pole length is 176 feet. The signal block controlling north bound trains is 10 pole lengths or 1760 feet southwest of the highway crossing. The highway over which Untiedt was routed-with his permit load in the city of Altheimer paralled the railroad track, on the north side, from west to east commencing at Olive Street past Chestnut Street; Main Street and on to Ed-line Street. The railway depot is located between Main •and Edline Streets on the north side of the railroad tracks between the highway and the tracks.

Untiedt and two other tractor lowboy rigs were hauling experimental cotton-picking machines from Santa .Bosa, Texas, to the-John Deere place in Altheimer. When they reached Altheimer, the three units were parked beside the highway near the depot while the lead driver sought .information about their destination. The lead vehicle and Untiedt’s vehicle parked between Main.Street and the Highway 88 crossing. The driver of the third vehicle'.parked parallel with the highway between Chestnut Street and Main Street, at the western edge of Main Street.-' ■ • The third truck remained at this position during the collision involved here. After the lead driver obtained his information, he pulled up and made a right turn across the Highway 88 crossing. The lead driver had no difficulty crossing the tracks. When. Untiedt pulled up to make his right turn across the tracks the lowhoy he was pulling became stuck on a hump or hogsbaek or rise in the approach to the crossing, trapping Untiedt’s truck on the tracks so that he could go neither forward or backward.

Untiedt testified that the first thing he did when he got out of his truck and saw what was wrong was to go around the truck and right over to the depot. lie estimates that about 15 minutes elapsed from the time he became stuck until the collision. On direct examination he stated that he was in the depot from 5 to 10 minutes and on cross examination says that it could be anywhere from 2 to 6 minutes. He had left the depot and was standing outside when the train struck his truck. When asked, on direct, what Ralph Oratin, the driver of the number three truck was doing, Untiedt stated: ■

“A. Well, he went out on the track and went down the track to see if lie knew what was wrong, he knew what was going on, he could see it and lie went out on this track and down the track.a short distance and waved his arms and tried to wave this help to get this train stopped.
“Q. In any event he was going down the track waving his arms!
“A. Right.
“Q. Now where was he with reference to this, was he on the Pine Bluff side of this building here or was he between the building and highway 88!
“A. No, he was down towards Pine Bluff just about a block, well, I don’t know if it would be a block, it would be a long block from the crossing where I was to the next crossing towards Pine Bluff.
“Q. Towards which the train was coining. In any event, you say he would be on the Pine Bluff side of the depot?
‘ ‘ A. Eight.
“Q. All right, now from the Pine Bluff side of this depot, Mr. Untiedt, and looking down towards Pine Bluff what distance down that wajr could you see a train coming?
“A. Well, you could see a train coming from where he was quite a distance down.
“Q. Now what would you classify as quite a distance ?
“A. Well, I don’t know, maybe a couple of miles, maybe two or three.”

Untiedt says that the front of the train stopped within a 100 to 150 feet past the point of impact. On cross examination Untiedt testified:

‘ ‘ Q. Where was the second, actually the third truck driver, where was he located at that time?
“A. Approximately a block down the street by the next crossing, just say he was parked to enter the next crossing.
“Q. He hadn’t started up to follow you?
“A. No. no, when I went around I headed, I went to the depot and at the same time evidently he went on the track because when I come out of the depot, (interrupted)
“Q.- You didn’t see him what he did?
“Mr. Rawlings; Let him finish answering the question Mr. Lile before you interrupt him.
“A. Because when I came out of the depot he was down there on the track, he was going down the track. I couldn’t see him when I was in the depot.
‘ ‘ Q. Okay, how many minutes would you say elapsed from the time you first got hung up and when you went into the depot?
“A. Oh, it wasn’t but a few, just long enough to walk down there.
“Q. I believe you stated on direct examination that the overall time, from the time that you got hung up until you were coming out of the depot was about fifteen minutes?
“A. Approximately, yes.
“Q. Is that correct?
“A. That’s right.
“Q. And you said you were in the depot from five to ten minutes, I’m not sure?
“A. Well, it could have been. It could have been two, it could have been six. Whatever it took long enough for him to call down there and him go, we got out of the depot.
“Q. But overall it took about fifteen minutes?
“A. Well, approximately, I mean I didn’t time it.
“Q. You really don’t know exactly what the third truck driver did after you got hung up did you? You didn’t see him in his truck or his truck wasn’t moving was it?
“A. No. It was parked.”

Arden Yasser, a witness called out of turn by the railroad estimated that the train went a car and a half or two cars after it hit Untiedt’s truck.

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Bluebook (online)
440 S.W.2d 251, 246 Ark. 941, 1969 Ark. LEXIS 1329, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/untiedt-v-st-louis-southwestern-railway-co-ark-1969.