Jarrell v. New Orleans & N. E. R. Co

• Decision Date: 15 March 1915
• Citation: 67 So. 659,109 Miss. 49
• Parties: JARRELL v. NEW ORLEANS & N. E. R. CO
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

67 So. 659

109 Miss. 49

JARRELL v. NEW ORLEANS & N. E. R. CO

Supreme Court of Mississippi

March 15, 1915

March 1915

APPEAL from the circuit court of Pearl River county. HON. A. E WEATHERSBY, Judge.

Suit by Geo. W. Jarrell against the New Orleans & Northwestern Railroad Company. From a judgment for defendant, plaintiff appeals.

The facts are fully stated in the opinion of the court.

Reversed and remanded.

Sullivan & Conner and Bilbo & Smith, for appellant.

R. H. &amp J. H. Thompson and A. S. Bozeman for appellee.

OPINION

COOK J.

Appellant sued appellees in the circuit court of Pearl River county for negligently causing the death of his son.

The record shows that appellant and his son, desiring to go from one part of the town of Picayune to another part of the town were confronted with the choice of walking about a quarter of a mile beyond one crossing and there cross the railroad track, or walking a half mile in another direction to an unblocked crossing, or climbing over or crawling under cars parked along the railroad track for about three-quarters of a mile. When they approached the track they looked up and down the track, and discovered that there was an unbroken string of cars extending a half mile in one direction and a quarter of a mile in the other direction. The nearest public crossing was about one hundred yards from the place where they reached the track, but the string of cars extended over this crossing, and beyond, for a quarter of a mile. They did not see or hear any locomotive, and, believing it would be safe to crawl under the cars, they proceeded to make the attempt. Before they got across, a locomotive, without signal or warning, butted into the string of cars south of the road crossing, and about a quarter of a mile away from the point where they were attempting to cross the track. The string of cars being all connected and a solid mass, the locomotive, when it moved against one end of the string, caused a movement of the whole, including the car under which plaintiff and his son were attempting to cross the track. Thus it was that the son of plaintiff was struck by the wheels of the car, with the result that he was fatally injured, dying within a few hours. In addition to the facts just stated, it appears from the record that it was the habit of the railroad company to park its cars on this stretch of track, and to habitually disregard the rights of the public by...