Daggett v. McReynolds
| Decision Date | 23 September 1970 |
| Docket Number | No. 385,385 |
| Citation | 459 S.W.2d 475 |
| Parties | James A. DAGGETT et al., Appellants, v. Dr. R. J. McREYNOLDS, Appellee. (14th Dist.) |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Curtis Collette, Law Offices of Harold Lloyd, Houston, for appellants.
Don Weitinger and David E. Lueders, Weitinger, Bradshaw & Foster, Houston, for appellee.
This suit involves a multiple car rear-end accident on the Gulf Freeway within the City of Houston. The accident occurred during a rainstorm when the lead car of the four cars involved in the accident broke down and stopped in the center lane of the freeway.
James A. Daggett had requested his granddaughter, Bobbie McKee, to drive him in his car to visit a friend on West Gray in the City of Houston. The accident occurred on the return trip to South Houston where Mrs. McKee's mother lived and where Mr. Daggett had been visiting. Bobbie McKee testified that she had followed the car in front of her for several blocks, and she had been traveling at a speed of approximately 40 miles per hour. She was about three or four car-lengths behind the car in front of her, and when the driver of the car in front applied his brakes, Mrs. McKee applied her brakes and came to a gradual stop without striking the car in front. She realized she was in a dangerous situation on the freeway, and after stopping the car she was driving, she was struck from behind by a Buick automobile driven by Dr. Robert J. McReynolds, the defendant. William H. Shuford, driver of the car ahead of Mrs. McKee and Mr. Daggett, testified that he was going south on Gulf Freeway before the accident. It was raining very hard and visibility was poor. Traffic was moderate and Shuford was traveling about 40 miles per hour. As he went up an overpass he came upon a stalled Rambler. He immediately applied his brakes but could not avoid striking the stalled Rambler. Shortly thereafter, he was struck from the rear by the car being driven by Mrs. McKee. Shortly thereafter Shuford felt a second impact, making a total of two impacts from the rear. A police officer testified that he found evidence at the scene that Bobbie McKee had struck the car of William Shuford before she was struck by Dr. McReynolds.
Mr. Daggett, plaintiff, testified that it was raining but not raining hard at the time of the accident, and he could see for two or three blocks. When he first saw the cars in his lane they were stopped, and he saw them from a distance of about a block and a half ahead.
Dr. McReynolds, the defendant, testified that he was traveling about 20 miles per hour shortly before the accident occurred. Traffic was reasonably heavy, and there were cars on each side of him. He had been traveling about 40 miles per hour when he entered the Gulf Freeway at Dowling Street, and the rain at that time was fairly heavy. The farther he traveled, the heavier the rain became, and by the time defendant got near the scene of the accident, it was raining extremely hard or was 'pouring down.' He testified that under the latter circumstances it was impossible to see clearly for any distance at all. He was looking straight ahead and plaintiffs' car suddenly appeared. He applied his brakes after he saw plaintiffs' car from a distance of some 30 feet. His car skidded or slid into the back of the Daggett car. Nobody claimed to be injured after the accident. Defendant testified that it was necessary to keep moving on the freeway to prevent being struck from behind under the conditions outlined above. The accident occurred on July 23, 1967.
The case was tried before a jury, and based on the jury's verdict, the trial court entered judgment in favor of Dr. McReynolds. The jury found that neither driver was negligent and absolved all parties of various acts of negligence proximately causing the collision in question. However, the jury found all elements of the doctrine of sudden emergency in favor of Dr. McReynolds and further found that such emergency was the sole proximate cause of the collision. In answer to special issue number 15, the jury found that the collision was not proximately caused by the negligence of either Bobbie McKee or Dr. R. J. McReynolds. The latter special issue is considered by appellants to be an unavoidable accident issue. However, unavoidable accident is defined as an event not proximately caused by the negligence of any party to it. Dallas Railway & Terminal Co. v. Bailey, 151 Tex. 359, 250 S.W.2d 379, 385. Since the issue did not inquire into the negligence of the other two parties to the accident (the driver of the stalled Rambler automobile and the driver of the preceding vehicle, Shuford), the special issue was not sufficient to reach the legal requirements of unavoidable accident.
This appeal is by James A. Daggett and Bobbie McKee as appellants. Dr. R. J....
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