Beaty v. Buckeye Fabric Finishing Co., 3696

• Decision Date: 28 December 1959
• Docket Number: No. 3696,3697.,3696
• Citation: 179 F. Supp. 688
• Parties: Girdle BEATY, Sr., Admr., Estate of James Daniel Beaty, Plaintiff, v. BUCKEYE FABRIC FINISHING CO. and William McCurdy, Defendants. Miss Daisy BEATY, Plaintiff, v. BUCKEYE FABRIC FINISHING CO. and William McCurdy, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Arkansas

179 F. Supp. 688

Girdle BEATY, Sr., Admr., Estate of James Daniel Beaty, Plaintiff, v. BUCKEYE FABRIC FINISHING CO. and William McCurdy, Defendants.

Miss Daisy BEATY, Plaintiff, v. BUCKEYE FABRIC FINISHING CO. and William McCurdy, Defendants.

Nos. 3696, 3697.

United States District Court E. D. Arkansas, W. D.

December 28, 1959.

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C. Van Hayes, Benton, Ark., for plaintiff, Girdle Beaty, Sr.

John H. Lookadoo, Arkadelphia, Ark., for plaintiff, Daisy Beaty.

Robert Lindsey, Wright, Harrison, Lindsey & Upton, Little Rock, Ark., for defendants.

HENLEY, Chief Judge.

These two cases, which were consolidated for trial and tried to the Court without a jury, grow out of two closely connected motor vehicle accidents which occurred on August 8, 1957, at a point on U. S. Highway No. 67 a few miles southwest of Benton, Saline County, Arkansas, and about a mile north of the Benton Unit of the Arkansas State Hospital for Nervous Diseases. As a result of the first accident Miss Daisy Beaty, the plaintiff in No. 3697, allegedly sustained personal injuries on account of which she has brought action. In the course of the second accident, which involved the same two vehicles and occurred about three minutes after the first, James Daniel Beaty received injuries and was killed. Case No. 3696 was brought by the administrator of the Estate of James Daniel Beaty to recover damages for decedent's personal injuries and death for the benefit of the estate and decedent's next of kin.

Miss Beaty is, and her father was, a citizen of Arkansas, as is the plaintiff administrator, Mr. Girdle Beaty, a son of the deceased. The defendant Buckeye Fabric Finishing Co. is an Ohio corporation, and the individual defendant, William McCurdy, is a citizen of that State.

From the Arkansas State Hospital to the City of Benton, Highway 67 runs generally north. A short distance north of the hospital the highway dips into a narrow valley and then goes up a rather steep hill and curves sharply to the left before the crest of the hill is reached. At the crest of the hill the highway constitutes a viaduct over a branch of the Missouri Pacific Railroad which at that point runs at right angles to the highway through a deep cut. Beyond the viaduct the road descends sharply into another valley. In the course of that descent the highway crosses a gravel road. The portion of that road which leads to the left away from the highway was referred to in the evidence as "Old Highway 88." The portion of the road which leads to the right away from the highway is known as "River Road" and runs downhill from the highway. The scene of the first accident was a point immediately beyond the viaduct. The scene of the second was a point on the east shoulder of the highway beyond the viaduct and near the entrance to River Road. Prior to the first accident both vehicles had been proceeding north toward Benton.

Plaintiff Miss Daisy Beaty resides in the vicinity of the Arkansas State Hospital where she is employed as a cook. At the time of the accident she and her father, who was nearly 83 years of age, lived together. Shortly before 8:30 a. m. on the morning in question Miss Beaty, accompanied by her father, started to Benton where she intended to obtain chiropractic treatment for what she described as "catches" in her back. She was proceeding at a moderate rate of speed and on the right hand side of the road. Some distance ahead of the Beaty car and going in the same direction was an automobile being driven by a Mrs. Vernon Harris. Behind the Beaty car was a heavily laden tractor-trailer belonging to the corporate defendant and being operated by its employee, the individual defendant, McCurdy. The vehicle that McCurdy was driving weighed more than 20,000 pounds and was carrying a load of more than 30,000 pounds.

Defendants' tractor-trailer was equipped with air brakes on both portions of the vehicle and with a mechanical emergency brake which when manually operated applied pressure to the drive shaft of the tractor. The air brakes on this vehicle could be applied to both tractor and trailer by means of a foot pedal in the cab of the tractor, and there was also a hand valve in the cab by which the driver could apply the air brakes to the trailer only. The vehicle was further equipped at the rear of the cab with a "break away" valve, the purpose of which was to preserve air for the brakes of the tractor should it at any time become disengaged from the trailer.

Air for the brakes on the defendants' vehicle was supplied by means of a compressor which operated when the engine was running. There was a gauge in the cab which would indicate to the driver the amount of air pressure available at a given time, and there was an alarm system to give warning should the air pressure fall below a safe level. According to the testimony of a mechanic called as a witness by the plaintiffs, the minimum safe air pressure on the defendants' vehicle was from 100 to 120 pounds per square inch.

It was the intention of Mrs. Harris to turn to the left onto "Old Highway 88" after crossing the viaduct, and while she was on the viaduct she reduced her speed and gave an appropriate signal for a left turn. Miss Beaty saw this signal and reduced speed, giving the proper signal of her action. The Harris vehicle cleared the viaduct, and just as it had completed its left turn, the Beaty car was struck from the rear by the defendants' tractor-trailer. While this impact, which constituted the first accident, caused Miss Beaty to sustain certain personal injuries, the impact itself was not severe. This is evidenced by the fact that, notwithstanding the tremendous weight of the tractor-trailer, the Beaty car was not sent out of control, and the damage to it was little more than the breaking out of the left tail light.

After this first collision Miss Beaty and McCurdy pulled over to the right or east shoulder of the highway and stopped their respective vehicles between the end of the viaduct and the entrance to River Road, the tractor-trailer being about ten feet behind the Beaty car. Occupants of both vehicles got out to inspect the damage. Before getting out of the tractor-trailer McCurdy set the emergency brake and also the hand valve so as to keep the air brakes on the trailer engaged. He left the motor running, which had the effect of keeping the air compressor in operation. As they were parked, both vehicles were headed down grade.

Miss Beaty and McCurdy met at the left rear of the Beaty car and began to inspect the damage. At about the same time Mr. Beaty came around the right side of the Beaty car to a position at the rear of that vehicle and between it and the tractor-trailer. After a lapse of not more than three minutes the brakes on the defendants' vehicle failed, and it rolled down the grade, catching Mr. Beaty and pinning him momentarily against the rear bumper of the Beaty car. As the Beaty car rolled away from this second impact, Mr. Beaty fell to the ground underneath the tractor-trailer where he was mangled and crushed to death by the wheels of that vehicle. While pinned between the vehicles, Mr. Beaty cried out, "Oh, my Lord!" And just before the truck passed over him, he was heard to groan. All of this happened in the immediate sight and hearing of Miss Beaty.

When McCurdy observed that his tractor-trailer was in motion, he ran to it, got into the cab, and steered the vehicle so that it rolled down River Road. At that time he had insufficient air to operate the brakes, and was forced to bring the vehicle to a halt by "gearing it down." According to the testimony, the tractor-trailer rolled 650 feet down River Road before coming to a stop. The Beaty car rolled about 30 feet down the shoulder of the highway before it finally came to rest.

The accident was investigated by a member of the Arkansas State Police and a deputy sheriff of Saline County. The latter testified that he inspected the tractor-trailer at the point where it had finally been stopped, that he found it had no air available for braking purposes, and that he was unable to build up any air pressure by starting the engine and running the compressor.

A few minutes after the accident Sam Gibson, an undertaker at Benton, arrived at the scene in an ambulance and took Mr. Beaty's body away. Mr. Gibson testified that when he arrived Miss Beaty was still on the scene in a state of hysteria and shock.

In view of the condition of the tractor-trailer the deputy sheriff instructed the defendant McCurdy not to try to move the vehicle until the brakes had been repaired. From the testimony of Charles Nicholas, an experienced mechanic who repaired the brakes, and of McCurdy, the Court is able to determine definitely the cause of the second accident and also to determine what was in all probability at least a contributing cause of the first.

Mr. Nicholas testified that when he examined the tractor-trailer he found that the break-away valve had been forced open by a foreign object, which appeared to be a piece of carbon, and that consequently air had been "bled" out of the tank until there was none left. He was unable to say how long the valve had been open, but on cross-examination he stated that the loss of air through the open valve would be gradual. In view of the very short time that elapsed between the first impact and the second, the Court is convinced that the valve had been open, and that the defendants' vehicle had been losing air for some time prior to the first collision. Although the loss may have been compensated for to some extent by the fact that the compressor was in operation as long as the engine was running, it is noted that after the second accident the deputy sheriff was unable to build up any pressure by running the compressor.

As stated, when McCurdy parked his vehicle on the shoulder of the road, he set the mechanical emergency brake on the tractor and the air...