Cederloff v. Whited
| Decision Date | 13 June 1946 |
| Docket Number | 6913 |
| Citation | 169 P.2d 777,110 Utah 45 |
| Court | Utah Supreme Court |
| Parties | CEDERLOFF v. WHITED |
Appeal from District Court, Third District, Salt Lake County; C. E Baker, Judge.
Action by Vera B. Cederloff against Isaac L. Whited to recover damages for injuries sustained by plaintiff in an automobile collision. The jury returned a verdict in favor of defendant of no cause of action, and plaintiff appeals.
Case reversed and remanded for a new trial in accordance with opinion.
Edwin D. Hatch, of Salt Lake City, for appellant.
Foote & Dawson, Jesse R. S. Budge, and Edwin B. Cannon, all of Salt Lake City, for respondent.
Plaintiff brings this action to recover damages for injuries which she sustained in an automobile collision between her car which was being driven by her son, and defendant's car which defendant was driving. The jury returned a verdict in favor of defendant, no cause of action, and plaintiff appeals.
Near midnight between June 15 and 16, 1944, plaintiff and her son and his wife were riding in a northerly direction on State Street in Salt Lake City, on the east side of the street in the traffic lane nearest the center. At the same time the defendant with a lady friend was riding in his car in a southerly direction. As these cars were approaching a point about 200 feet north of 9th South where the driveway into the Condas Apartments enters the east side of State Street, in attempting to turn into that driveway, the defendant turned the right front corner of his car directly into the course of plaintiff's car and the two cars collided. The point of impact was a few feet east of the center line of the street and about in the middle of the traffic lane in which plaintiff's car was traveling. All of the front of plaintiff's car was smashed and the right front fender and the right side of the radiator of defendant's car were smashed. This indicates that the front part of defendant's car was all that had gotten beyond the center line of the street. After the impact plaintiff's car veered to the east and stopped with the front against the east curb of the street about 30 feet from the point of impact. The defendant's car which was going in a southeasterly direction at the point of impact veered sharply to the north and came to rest near the center of the street facing north about 48 feet from the point of impact. Plaintiff's car was damaged and she received more or less serious personal injuries. If she was entitled to recover there is no question but that she sustained damages.
The undisputed testimony shows that plaintiff's car was traveling from 25 to 30 miles per hour immediately prior to the accident, with lighted headlights which complied with the legal requirements; that the semaphore light at the intersection of 9th South and State Street was green and her car passed through without stopping; that the collision occurred about 200 feet north of that intersection; that immediately prior thereto the driver of plaintiff's car was observing the traffic generally to the north but he did not notice the defendant's car was turning until it was about a car length in front of him, that he then applied his brakes but was unable to stop in time to avoid a collision. A police officer testified that after the collision the pavement showed time marks 21 feet in length where plaintiff's car had traveled immediately prior to the collision, probably made part by the front and part by the rear wheels.
The testimony also showed without dispute that when defendant passed through the intersection of 8th South and State Street he was traveling from 10 to 15 miles per hour, in the center or second lane of traffic west from the center of the street, and that about halfway between that intersection and the Condas Apartment driveway he put his hand out of his car window and signaled a left hand turn and turned over into the first lane of traffic next to the center line in the street, that he continued with his hand out of the window to signal a left hand turn until he neared the Condas Apartment driveway and commenced making the turn, that as he did so he slowed his car down to about 5 miles per hour and at the time of the collision he was almost stopped. That before he entered the northbound traffic lane he looked to the south for northbound cars but saw no car approaching from the south and that he did not see plaintiff's car at all before the collision. The police officer testified that there were tire marks 12 feet long on the pavement where defendant's car had traveled immediately preceding the collision. Also probably made part by the front and part by the back wheels.
Plaintiff strenuously contends that the court should have directed the jury that as a matter of law the defendant's negligence was the sole proximate cause of the collision and resulting damage to the plaintiff and should have left to them the determination of the amount of such damages.
Section 57-7-133, U. C. A. 1943, provides:
"(a) No person shall turn a vehicle from a direct course upon a highway unless and until such movement can be made with reasonable safety * * *."
Defendant turned his car from a direct course in the highway into the lane of traffic intended for vehicles traveling the opposite direction at a time when plaintiff's car was approaching in such close proximity that the collision occurred as soon as the front end of defendant's car had reached a few feet into plaintiff's lane of traffic. Had plaintiff's car run into the rear end of defendant's car after the front end thereof had entirely crossed plaintiff's course of travel, there might have been some question whether the turn could be made with reasonable safety, but under the facts in this case it is clear that as a matter of law the turn could not be made with reasonable safety, and that defendant was guilty of negligence. The defendant's testimony that he looked and did not see any car coming does not help his situation, because if he had paid attention to what was there to be seen he would have seen plaintiff's car coming, as it was approaching in the immediate vicinity, and there is no claim that it did not have proper lights. It is equally clear that such negligence of the defendant was at least one of the proximate causes of the accident. The accident was the immediate and direct result of this negligence, and without such negligence it would not have occurred.
But our question is: Was defendant's negligence the sole proximate cause of the accident? Or was the evidence such that the jury could reasonably find therefrom that plaintiff was guilty of negligence which proximately contributed in causing the accident? The jury could have reasonably found either: One, that the defendant drove slowly south down State Street, and after passing the intersection at 8th South, he turned from the second into the first southbound traffic lane or the lane on the west side of the street nearest to the center, while signaling with his hand a left hand turn, and then as he approached the entrance into the Condas Apartments he turned very slowly into the east side or northbound trafficlane directly in front of plaintiff's car where...
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