Bassham v. Diamond, 56889
| Decision Date | 05 January 1979 |
| Docket Number | No. 56889,56889 |
| Parties | BASSHAM v. DIAMOND. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Long, Denton & Spencer, Allen D. Denton, Quitman, Blackburn & Bright, J. Converse Bright, Valdosta, for appellant.
Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy, Eugene G. Partain, Anthony L. Cochran, Atlanta, for appellee.
Wrongful death action. The facts show that the decedent and two companions were driving in an automobile on Interstate 285 about 6 a. m. when their automobile became disabled. The occupants of the vehicle, three young men, started to walk along the edge of the highway seeking to obtain assistance. The evidence indicated that it was prior to sunrise, that the area was dark, the pedestrians were wearing dark clothing, they carried no light, the area was not illuminated, the weather was overcast, traffic was congested, and visibility was poor. The three men were near the vicinity of one of the access roads of Interstate 20 as it merges into I-285. The young men were walking in an elongated triangular area marked by painted stripes which separated the outside (opposite the median) lane of I-285 from the access lane of I-20. There were numerous signs along the interstate highway prohibiting pedestrians from walking on the highway. There was evidence that the men could have walked alongside but not on the highway.
The appellee, Mrs. Diamond, was in the process of entering I-285 from I-20. She looked to her left rear to see if she had clearance to enter I-285 and when she looked back to merge into the outside lane of I-285, she saw three persons in front of her car. She applied her brakes, skidded approximately 110 feet, but nevertheless struck and instantly killed the decedent Albrecht, appellant Bassham's son. The jury returned a verdict for the appellee Diamond, defendant below, which was made the judgment of the court. Mrs. Bassham brings this appeal, enumerating 13 alleged errors, nine dealing with evidentiary matters and four with the charge of the court. Held:
1. Enumerated errors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 raise substantially the same error, i. e., that the testimony concerning similar acts of driving by motorists other than Mrs. Diamond and similar acts of pedestrians other than the deceased Albrecht, is irrelevant and tends to invade the province of the jury. All of the disputed questions and answers concerned the same ramp observed under circumstances similar to, or perhaps less hazardous than, those existing at the time of the accident.
It is the general rule that negligence cannot be shown by similar acts or omissions on other or different occasions. However, whether Mrs. Diamond was negligent in driving across the triangular strip in an effort to merge into I-285, and whether Albrecht was negligent in walking on the strip between the access lane and one of the main traffic lanes of I-285 were principal questions facing the jury. Thus, evidence that the place where the deceased was walking was a dangerous place under any circumstances, that certain forms of driving in that area were common and accepted means of driving, that pedestrians commonly did not use that portion of the highway or that pedestrians would have known of the dangerous position they would be in while walking in that portion of the highway, constituted evidence that was highly relevant to a resolution of the question of negligence and upon whom to place responsibility for the accident. Thus, it has been held that evidence tending to show that the place where the pedestrian was walking was dangerous for pedestrians is properly received. Hulsey v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 138 Ga.App. 523, 526(3), 226 S.E.2d 791. So is evidence designed to show that pedestrians had knowledge of the dangerous conditions. Hogg v. First Nat. Bank, 82 Ga.App. 861, 872, 62 S.E.2d 634. Also evidence that similar occurrences had not been observed is relevant. Higgins v....
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Whitley v. Gwinnett County
...and how the collision occurred. Generally, evidence of similar accidents is not admissible to prove negligence. Bassham v. Diamond, 148 Ga.App. 620, 621(1), 252 S.E.2d 23 (1979). Although evidence of similar collisions has been admitted in the past to show the Georgia DOT's knowledge of the......
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Dunagan v. State
...a dangerous condition." Ga. Dept. of Transp. v. Brown, 218 Ga.App. 178, 183(4), 460 S.E.2d 812 (1995). See also Bassham v. Diamond, 148 Ga.App. 620, 621(1), 252 S.E.2d 23 (1979). Compare Whitley v. Gwinnett County, 221 Ga.App. 18, 470 S.E.2d 724 3. The State asserts that the portion of Duna......
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Pembrook Management, Inc. v. Cossaboon, 60933
...of a prior similar accident tends to show condition and knowledge of that condition, the evidence is admissible. Bassham v. Diamond, 148 Ga.App. 620, 252 S.E.2d 23; City of Dublin v. Howell, 68 Ga.App. 463, 23 S.E.2d 177. All that is required is that the prior accident be sufficient to attr......