Hubble v. Bourg
| Decision Date | 13 November 1953 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 3722,3723,s. 3722 |
| Citation | 68 So.2d 639 |
| Parties | HUBBLE v. BOURG. BOURG v. HUBBLE. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
Blanchard & Blanchard, Donaldsonville, for appellant.
Taylor, Porter, Brooks, Fuller & Phillips, Baton Rouge, for appellee.
These two consolidated cases arise from an intersectional collision involving car owned and operated by Maedee Hubble and an automobile owned by Claude Bourg, Sr., which was being driven at the time by Claude Bourg, Jr., his minor son, which occurred on January 7, 1949 in Port Barrow, a suburb of Donaldsonville.
Hubble filed suit against Bourg for damages to his car resulting from the collision and answer was filed by the defendant, and Bourg then filed a separate suit against Hubble on behalf of his minor daughter, Elaine Bourg, who was a passenger in the Bourg vehicle and who sustained personal injuries in the accident.
In this latter suit answer was filed together with a reconventional demand, said demand making part thereof the allegations contained in the suit filed by Hubble.
The cases were consolidated for trial and judgments were rendered in each case rejecting Hubble's demand in the first suit and awarding damages in favor of Claude Bourg, the father of the minor, Elaine Bourg, in the second suit, and also rejecting the reconventional demand. Hubble has appealed in both suits.
The two streets forming the intersection where the accident occurred are both rather narrow graveled streets. Hubble testified that he was proceeding west on Fourth Street at a speed of approximately 20 to 25 miles per hour and that he first saw the Bourg car proceeding north on Orange Street when he was 100 feet from the intersection, and he places the Bourg car at that time as 200 feet from the intersection. In his testimony he admitted that he did not see the approaching vehicle from the time he saw it 200 feet away until the instant of the collision; that he did not continue to watch it after first sighting it, nor did he apply his brakes until the moment of the impact. There was nothing in the southeast corner of the intersection that would have prevented the Bourg car from being visible at all times to Hubble. He testified that he had almost completely crossed the intersection when his car was struck on its left side at the extreme western edge of the intersection by the Bourg automobile. He contends that if the Bourg vehicle had not been turned to its left toward the west, in the same direction in which the Hubble car was travelling, that the accident would not have occurred. It seems to be amply borne out by the testimony as well as upon photographic exhibits, that the two cars did proceed toward the west immediately prior to and after the collision and that both came to rest some 40 to 50 feet west of the center line of the intersection in the direction in which Hubble had been proceeding.
Hubble called as his witness Mr. Hebert, a repair man, who testified as to the damages and repair costs to the Hubble automobile, but stated further that in his opinion, from the damage done to the Hubble automobile, it appeared that the force which had damaged the Hubble car had come from the left front or at a frontal angle rather than from the rear or rear side.
The only other witness called by Hubble with regard to the occurrence of the accident was Mr. Malino, Deputy Sheriff of Ascension Parish, who was called to the scene of the accident shortly after it happened. Malino testified that when he arrived the cars were still together on Fourth Street west of the intersection and that he took the photographs of the cars and the vicinity shortly after his arrival. He further stated that the cars were approximately 40 to 45 feet west of the intersection of Fourth and Orange Streets; that the Bourg car was not damaged on its front, but that the Hubble car was damaged on its front. His testimony, together, with the photographic exhibits, indicate that the left front of the Hubble car struck the right side of the Bourg car towards its front.
Claude Bourg, Jr., the driver of the Bourg car, who was only 14 years of age did not have a driver's license and was allowed to drive the automobile only at certain times and places, testified that he was proceeding at about 10 miles per hour and that the front of the car he was driving was about 3 feet into the intersection at the time the collision occurred; that he applied his brakes and was practically stopped at the time the car he was driving was struck by the Hubble vehicle. He further stated that the left front of the Hubble car struck the Bourg car on its right front side. He maintains he had entered the intersection prior to the Hubble car.
The testimony clearly shows young Bourg was watching a colored woman who he thought was about to cross the street in front of him, and he admitted that the first time he knew an accident was imminent was when his sister Elaine called his attention to the Hubble car. He further admitted that he did not stop the car although he did apply his brakes.
Elaine Bourg, the passenger in the Bourg vehicle, testified the Bourg car was travelling at approximately 10 miles per hour when it was struck by the Hubble car; that as a result she fell out of the car and sustained the injuries alleged. She testified that when the Bourg car was some 10 or 15 feet from the intersection, the Hubble car was approximately 50 feet from the intersection but later estimated this distance at 20 to 23 feet, and although unable to estimate its speed she expressed the opinion that it was travelling at a rapid rate. She further testified that she called her brother's attention to the approaching car and he applied his brakes, at which time the right side of the Bourg car was struck by the front of the Hubble car, and that at the point of impact the Bourg car was approximately 3 to 5 feet into the intersection and had come to almost a complete stop. She also denied the Bourg car had been swerved from its path or that its direction had been changed immediately before the collision.
Odele Johnson, a colored school teacher,...
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