Baker v. City of Waco, 2039.
| Decision Date | 11 May 1939 |
| Docket Number | No. 2039.,2039. |
| Citation | 129 S.W.2d 499 |
| Parties | BAKER v. CITY OF WACO. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Appeal from Seventy-Fourth District Court, McLennan County; Giles P. Lester, Judge.
Action by Emma E. Baker against the City of Waco for death of plaintiff's husband resulting from intersectional collision with a police car. From a judgment for the defendant, plaintiff appeals.
Affirmed.
Orville Jobe and F. L. C. Greer, both of Waco, for appellant.
Allan D. Sanford, City Atty., and Geo. W. Morrow, N. B. Brown and Mabel Grey Howell, Assts. City Atty., all of Waco, for appellee.
This suit was instituted by appellant, Emma E. Baker, against appellee, City of Waco, to recover damages for the death of her husband, John W. Baker, in a traffic accident at the intersection of North Fifth and Washington streets in said city.
Appellant alleged, in substance, that appellee was a city of approximately 60,000 inhabitants; that its governing body was a board of commissioners; that said commissioners, in their official capacity, had and exercised exclusive control over the public streets of said city; that it was their duty to control and regulate the use of the same; that in pursuance of said duty, said city installed and equipped in the business section a system of traffic lights; that such lights were in boxes suspended approximately 35 feet above the center of the street intersection; that such lights flashed red, yellow and green in succession, causing traffic on one street to stop and permitting traffic on the other to pass; that said system was turned on at 8 o'clock A. M., and turned off at 10 o'clock P. M.; that said signal system was equipped with a switch which enabled the operator to cause the bell to ring and the yellow light to appear to warn the traveling public not to cross an intersection when such signals were given. Appellant further alleged, in substance, that it had been the custom of appellee continuously since the installation of said signal system to turn on said yellow or caution light and to cause the bell to ring at any and all times, day or night, when the streets upon which such signals were installed were unsafe for use by the traveling public, and more particularly when "fire trucks, ambulances, etc." were using the same; that such system was under the supervision and control of the city electrician and that direct telephone connection by private line between the operator thereof and police headquarters was continuously maintained. Appellant further alleged that North Fifth and Washington streets were both extensively used by the traveling public and that a signal light was installed at the intersection thereof; that the installation and operation of said signal light as aforesaid constituted a nuisance, in that it gave the traveling public a right to rely thereon to warn them when said streets were unsafe for travel; that appellant's husband, J. W. Baker, about 11:45 P. M., after the general operation of said signal system had been discontinued for the night, was traveling south on North Fifth street; that relying on appellee's custom and duty to warn him if it was unsafe to cross at said intersection, he entered the same and was struck therein by a car traveling west on Washington street; that said car was being operated by a member of appellee's police department on an emergency call at an excessive and dangerous rate of speed; that as a result of said collision, her said husband received injuries which caused his death.
Appellant alleged that appellee was guilty of negligence in failing to keep its signal system in proper working order, and in failing to cause its employees to turn on the yellow or caution light and to ring the bell to warn the deceased that said streets were not safe for travel at the time he was struck and injured. Appellant further alleged that by the continuous operation of said signals in the past, appellee had caused deceased to rely on the operation of the same for the purpose of...
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