Eskridge v. Metropolitan St. Ry. Co.

• Decision Date: 19 May 1913
• Citation: 157 S.W. 105,170 Mo. App. 548
• Parties: ESKRIDGE v. METROPOLITAN ST. RY. CO.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

157 S.W. 105

170 Mo. App. 548

ESKRIDGE v. METROPOLITAN ST. RY. CO.

Kansas City Court of Appeals. Missouri.

May 19, 1913.

1. STREET RAILROADS (§ 114) — ACTIONS FOR INJURIES TO PERSONS ON TRACK — SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE.

Where a street car motorman was looking into the car just before it struck a pedestrian, the jury was not bound to find that he would not have seen the pedestrian in time to have avoided injuring him even had he been keeping a lookout, merely because a passenger on the front platform who was looking ahead failed to see the pedestrian until he was on the track.

2. STREET RAILROADS (§§ 81, 93) — OPERATION OF CARS — DUTY OF MOTORMAN — NEGLIGENCE.

It was a street car motorman's duty to be on the alert with a sharp lookout for the safety of pedestrians, and it was negligence as a matter of law for a motorman to look back watching what was happening inside the car instead of looking ahead.

3. STREET RAILROADS (§ 103) — ACTIONS FOR INJURIES TO PERSONS ON TRACKS — INJURIES AVOIDABLE NOTWITHSTANDING CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE.

Where a street car motorman just before his car struck a pedestrian was looking backwards into the car, the jury were justified in

finding that his negligence was the proximate cause of the injury notwithstanding the pedestrian's contributory negligence in standing on the track while another car passed.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Jackson County; Jas. E. Goodrich, Judge.

Action by Mattie Eskridge against the Metropolitan Street Railway Company. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Affirmed.

John H. Lucas and Bruce Barnett, both of Kansas City, for appellant. Ellis, Cook & Barnett, of Kansas City, for respondent.

ELLISON, J.

This is an action for personal injury, afterwards resulting in the death of plaintiff's husband. She recovered judgment in the trial court.

Defendant operates a street railway north and south on Walnut street in Kansas City, and struck deceased on the south side of the intersection of Eleventh street with Walnut, a point where there is a constant throng of people crossing over Walnut in going east and west on Eleventh street. There were two principal witnesses introduced by plaintiff; the motorman being one of them — the defendant offering no evidence. The car was running south on the west track at five or six miles an hour, and deceased was not seen by the motorman until within six or eight feet of him. He was then standing on the east rail of the west track, looking east, and...