Bridgforth v. Vandiver, 5-770
| Decision Date | 12 December 1955 |
| Docket Number | No. 5-770,5-770 |
| Citation | 225 Ark. 702,284 S.W.2d 623 |
| Parties | Blanche BRIDGFORTH and Otto R. Bridgforth, Appellants, v. Francis VANDIVER, Appellee. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Jack P. West, E. J. Butler, Forrest City, for appellant.
Mann & McCulloch, Forrest City, for appellee.
This action was instituted by appellants, Blanche Bridgforth and [her husband] Otto R. Bridgforth, against appellee, Francis Vandiver, to recover damages for alleged injuries to Mrs. Bridgforth resulting from an automobile collision caused, allegedly, by the negligence of appellee.
Appellee pleaded contributory negligence on the part of Mrs. Bridgforth, the driver of one of the vehicles. The cause was submitted to the jury upon instructions which are not questioned on this appeal, and a verdict was returned in favor of appellee. As recognized by appellants this court would not be justified, in the situation outlined above, in setting aside the verdict of the jury unless it is shown by the record that there is no substantial evidence to support the jury in a finding that appellee was not negligent and also that there is no substantial evidence in the record to support the jury in a finding that Mrs. Bridgforth was contributorily negligent. In other words, if we find from the record substantial evidence from which the jury might have found that appellee was not negligent or if we find substantial evidence from which the jury might have found that Mrs. Bridgforth was guilty of contributory negligence, then it is our duty, under well recognized rules, to affirm the judgment of the lower court.
The accident involved here took place on January 6, 1954 around 5:00 p. m. at the intersection of North Rosser Street and Garland Street in the City of Forrest City, Arkansas. North Rosser Street is 36 feet wide and runs north and south while Garland Street is 30 feet wide and runs east and west. There are two stop signs on Garland Street--one at the northeast corner of the intersection and one at the southwest corner of the intersection. The location described is near the business district and there is a building at or near the corner of each block adjacent to the intersection. At the time of the accident it appears that automobiles were parked on the west side of North Rosser Street near the intersection on the north side thereof, and also cars parked on the north side of Garland Street near the intersection on the west side thereof. Mrs. Bridgforth was driving her husband's car south on North Rosser Street and appellee was driving a pickup truck east on Garland Street, each vehicle being on the proper side of the street. When the front end of appellee's pickup truck was about half way between the center line and the west line of North Rosser Street it was hit by or collided with the front end of the automobile being drived by Mrs. Bridgforth. Appellants' witness stated that the automobile traveled 20 feet into the intersection and appellee's pickup truck traveled 10 feet into the intersection when the collision occurred. After the collision appellee's pickup truck came to a stop on the east side of North Rosser Street and the automobile traveled across North Rosser Street, hit the curb at the southeast corner of the intersection and came to rest about the middle of Garland Street--a distance of approximately 90 feet from the place of the collision.
Mrs. Bridgforth and the appellee were the only eyewitnesses to the accident. Mrs. Bridgforth states that she was traveling about 25 MPH when she approached the intersection, that when she was about 50 feet from the intersection she looked to the right and saw no one approaching along Garland Street from the west, and that when she was about two-thirds of the way across the intersection her car and appellee's truck collided, and; that when she did see appellee's truck coming into the intersection she tried to turn her wheel just as the pickup truck and car collided, and her car was knocked out of her control. She also stated that there was a 30 mile speed limit sign on North Rosser Street.
Appellee testified that when he came close to the intersection he slowed his truck down and shifted gears but that he did not come to a complete stop as he did not think it was necessary; that he looked both ways and couldn't see any one coming in either direction; that after he got a few feet out into the intersection the right front of the automobile struck his truck square on the front axle, turning his truck slightly to the right; that when he stopped his truck on the east side of North Rosser Street the automobile had already hit the telephone pole across the intersection. He stated that he was going about 25 MPH when he was in the middle of the block before he slowed down for the intersection and that he did not dash out in front of Mrs. Bridgforth. He also states that he thinks he got into the intersection first and that when he first saw the automobile it was only 6 or 8 feet away.
The above factual situation, we think, is sufficient to present a jury question. After a careful consideration we have concluded that there was substantial evidence from which the jury might have found that Mrs. Bridgforth was driving at a careless rate of speed commensurate with the possibilities of danger lurking at the particular intersection she was approaching. The jury might have believed that Mrs. Bridgforth could not have had a clear view of cars approaching the intersection from the west on Garland Street due to the fact that parked cars might have obstructed her view and consequently that she was under the duty of keeping her car under control better than she did. This possible view is strengthened by the fact that her car traveled some 90 feet after the collision. Likewise the jury had a right to conclude that appellee was telling the truth about the speed of his pick-up truck since he brought it to a stop within such a short distance.
This court has heretofore had occasion to pass upon questions...
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...violation of a statute is evidence a jury may consider in determining whether a defendant is guilty of negligence. Bridgforth v. Vandiver, 225 Ark. 702, 284 S.W.2d 623 (1955); Bussell v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Co., 237 Ark. 812, 376 S.W.2d 545 (1964). Moreover, our rule gives the defenda......
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...other facts and circumstances, in determining the negligence or non-negligence of the defendant." In Bridgforth v. Vandiver (1955), 225 Ark. 702, at page 707, 284 S.W.2d 623, at page 625, the court "Appellants specifically call attention to Ark.Stats. § 75-623(b) which in effect provides th......
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