Goff v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co.
| Decision Date | 03 August 1951 |
| Citation | 53 So.2d 777 |
| Parties | GOFF v. ATLANTIC COAST LINE R. CO. et al. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Mabry, Reaves, Carlton, Anderson, Fields & Ward, Tampa, for appellant.
Charles Cook Howell, Wilmington, N.C., and LeRoy Allen, Tampa for appellees.
We here review a summary judgment entered by the court below in favor of defendant-appellees in a suit by plaintiff-appellant to recover for her injuries sustained in a railroad crossing accident. It appears from affidavits filed in support of its motion for summary judgment by the defendant railroad company that the automobile in which plaintiff was a guest passenger struck the rear of the first car behind the engine of defendant's train with such force as to derail such car; and that, as shown by the tire skid marks of the automobile, the tires had skidded approximately 114 feet before colliding with the train. The lower court in entering summary judgment declared therein that 'While a passenger in a car is not chargeable with the contributory negligence of the driver, it is apparent that there is no actionable negligence on the part of the railroad in this case, but that the sole proximate cause of the accident was the negligence of the driver of said car in failing to have his car under proper control to be able to stop in time to avoid this collision.'
The plaintiff had charged that the defendants 'negligently failed to give proper signals to notify the plaintiff of the approach of said train,' and that the defendant railroad company 'negligently failed to provide appropriate signals at the crossing, and negligently permitted a fairly dense growth of trees and bushes to grow up on top of the embankment on either side of the tract so that the train was partially hidden from the view of automobile operators approaching the crossing,' as a direct result of which, it was alleged, the plaintiff was injured. In support of these allegations and in resistance to the defendant's motion for summary judgment, the plaintiff's affidavit was filed, in which she stated that 'the train whistle was not blown to sound a warning of its approach to the crossing until it was almost upon the crossing and too late to notify the occupants of the automobile of its approach to the crossing; that the approach of the train to the crossing was hidden from the road might of way upon which the said automobile was being driven by a fairly dense growth of trees, weeds and bushes, and a high bank of dirt which the Atlantic Coast Line had allowed to grow and remain along the right of way of the said railroad and the said train could not be seen from the road right of way until the said train was almost on the crossing; that the said automobile was traveling at a rate of speed at the time of the said collision of not more than forty miles an hour.'
It appears from affidavits filed on behalf of defendants that the highway and railroad intersect at this crossing at a 90-degree angle, both approaching the intersection in a straight line; that the...
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