Home/Supreme Court of Iowa/Van Gorden v. City of Fort Dodge

Van Gorden v. City of Fort Dodge

243 N.W. 736, 216 Iowa 209
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedDecember 13, 1932
DocketNo. 41383.
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 243 N.W. 736 (Van Gorden v. City of Fort Dodge) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Van Gorden v. City of Fort Dodge, 243 N.W. 736, 216 Iowa 209 (iowa 1932).

Opinion

Kindig, J.

This suit at law was commenced by the plaintiff-appellant, Daisy Van Gorden, as the administratrix of the Harry Van Gorden estate, to recover, for the intestate’s alleged wrongful death, damages from the defendants-appellees, the city of Ft. Dodge, Iowa, and the Chicago, Great Western Railway Company. The intestate, Harry Van Gorden, was killed at Ft. Dodge, Iowa, on March 9, 1930, between 10:30 and 11 o’clock p. m., when he drove the automobile in which he was riding against a railroad traffic signal located substantially in the center of Fifth Avenue South, near the east city limits.

*211 Harry Van Gorden, the intestate, during his lifetime, was employed in the insurance business. Such employment required him to travel over his allotted territory in an automobile. Upon the night in question, Van Gorden was traveling from Des Moines to his home at Emmetsburg, by way of Ft. Dodge. He approached Ft. Dodge from the east over highway No. 20. Highway No. 20 is an east and west arterial highway, extending across the entire state through the city of Ft. Dodge. At Ft. Dodge, highway No. 20 from the east extends through the eastern part of the city over Fifth Avenue South. Immediately and for some distance east of Ft. Dodge highway No. 20 is paved. That pavement is 18 feet wide. As before explained, the 18-foot paved roadway on highway No. 20 connects at the east city limits of Ft. Dodge with Fifth Avenue South, extending in an east and west direction in that city. Fifth Avenue South is a paved thoroughfare 26 feet 6 inches wide on the traveled portion thereof. Two sets of railroad tracks cross Fifth Avenue South in a northwesterly and southeasterly direction immediately west of the railroad traffic signal against which the appellant’s intestate drove his automobile. The west set of these railroad tracks belongs to the Ft. Dodge, Des Moines & Southern Railway Company; while the east set thereof is owned by the appellee Chicago, Great Western Railway Company. When driving westerly from highway No. 2Ú on the east side of Ft. Dodge over Fifth Avenue South connecting therewith, as before explained, the first railroad track approached in said city is that of the appellee Chicago, Great Western Railway Company.

In June, 1928, the appellee city of Ft. Dodge, by resolution, authorized the appellee Great Western Railway Company to erect and maintain the aforesaid railroad traffic signal at the point in question. This signal is located on Fifth Avenue South immediately east of the appellee Great Western Railway Company’s tracks at a point 132 feet west from the place where highway No. 20 enters the east limits of Ft. Dodge. Such traffic signal has a concrete base or pedestal 3 feet 10 inches wide from north to south, and five feet long from east to west. It appears that the concrete base is about 2 feet high. Placed upon the concrete base is an iron pole several feet long. On top of the iron pole is an electric bell. Beneath the electric bell are cross-arms similar to those usually appearing at a railway crossing. Painted on these cross-arms are the words “railroad crossing”. Below the cross-arms are two red lights which flash alternately *212 when a train approaches. One of these lights is located on each side of the pole. Underneath those alternate lights, and above the concrete base before mentioned, are two small amber lights. These amber lights are arranged, as are the alternate lights, with one on each side of the pole. There is a clearance of 11 feet 5 inches on each side of the signal device. In order to assist the reader, there is inserted at this place a photograph of the railroad traffic signal. The photograph shows the signal when the observer is looking west. *213 When this photograph was taken, the camera stood 13 feet east of the signal.

*212

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Bluebook (online)
243 N.W. 736, 216 Iowa 209, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/van-gorden-v-city-of-fort-dodge-iowa-1932.