Bone v. Yellow Cab Co.

• Decision Date: 05 May 1924
• Docket Number: 18298.
• Court: Washington Supreme Court
• Parties: BONE v. YELLOW CAB CO.

225 P. 440

129 Wash. 503

BONE v. YELLOW CAB CO.

No. 18298.

Supreme Court of Washington

May 5, 1924

Department 1.

Appeal from Superior Court, Spokane County; Blake, Judge.

Action by C. H. Bone against the Yellow Cab Company. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Reversed and remanded, with instructions.

McCarthy Edge & Lantz, of Spokane, for appellant.

John H Roche, of Spokane, for respondent.

PARKER J.

The plaintiff Bone seeks recovery of damages for personal injuries claimed as the result of the alleged negligent driving of one of the defendant cab company's taxicabs on Monroe street in Spokane. A trial in the superior court for Spokane county sitting with a jury resulted in verdict and judgment awarding to plaintiff recovery, from which the defendant has appealed to this court.

It is first contended in behalf of appellant that the evidence does not support any recovery. A somewhat careful reading of the evidence convinces us that the jury might well have believed the occurrences attending respondent's injury to have been in substance as follows: Monroe street with two street car tracks upon it, runs north and south, the center line of the street being midway between the two tracks. The time in question was about 5:30 o'clock during a winter morning. About 12 inches of snow was then upon the ground, 6 or 8 inches of which was fresh and had fallen during that night. The sidewalks were not then cleared of the fresh snow. The street car tracks and the space between them had in some considerable measure been cleared of snow by the running of street cars, and evidently by the using of snowplows by the street car people. This had resulted in banks of snow somewhat more than a foot high being made on the extreme outside of the tracks. During that morning automobiles were using this cleared space; it being somewhat inconvenient by reason of the piled-up snow to use other portions of the street. Pedestrians were also then using this cleared space. Respondent was walking south between the rails of the east car track. At the same time the driver of appellant's taxicab was driving it north along the same track, that being on his right side of the street. When there was a space of 100 or 150 feet between respondent and the taxicab, both he and the driver recognized that they were approaching each other, at which time the driver sounded the horn. There is some evidence to indicate that the taxicab was being driven somewhat in excess of the lawful rate of speed. Respondent, seeing the taxicab approaching, turned to his right--that is, to the west--onto the space between the two tracks, shortly before the driver of the taxicab changed his direction. However, the driver of the taxicab also turned to his left--that is, to the west--and respondent, seeing his dangerous situation so arising, proceeded farther to the west over the west car track and was struck by the taxicab at a point some 4 feet west of the west car track thereby receiving the injuries of which he complains. The driver of the taxicab insists that he turned to the west not later than when respondent turned to the west, this in an endeavor to avoid...