Judson v. Great Northern Ry. Co.
| Decision Date | 19 December 1895 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 9598-(142).,s. 9598-(142). |
| Citation | 63 Minn. 248 |
| Parties | LORENZO H. JUDSON, Administrator, v. GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY.<SMALL><SUP>1</SUP></SMALL> |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
C. Wellington, for appellant.
H. Steenerson, for respondent.
This was an action brought by plaintiff, as administrator of the estate of a minor son, who was killed in a collision between plaintiff's horses and wagon and one of defendant's trains at a public highway crossing, to recover damages. The complaint, after setting out the circumstances, alleged that the death of the boy was the result of the negligent, unlawful, and wanton management of the train by those in charge after they saw the boy in a perilous position. At the close of plaintiff's testimony, counsel for defendant moved to dismiss upon the ground that the evidence conclusively showed contributory negligence on the part of the boy, and also failed to show that by means of ordinary care or prudence the train men could have averted the accident. To a denial of this motion defendant excepted, and then declined to introduce any evidence. The proofs in the case being all before the jury, counsel moved the court to direct a verdict in defendant's favor, on the ground that the evidence clearly showed that the boy was guilty of contributory negligence such as would debar recovery, and that there was no proof from which it could be found that the defendant's servants were wanton or willful at the time of the unfortunate occurrence. This was refused, and after a charge by the court to the jury, which was erroneous in several respects, a general verdict was returned in plaintiff's favor. As the order denying defendant's motion for a new trial must be set aside if we are to abide by well-settled principles governing such cases, the facts and circumstances which appeared without contradiction upon the trial should be detailed with considerable minuteness.
The accident occurred on a clear day, in the month of October. The deceased was of ordinary size and intelligence, aged 14 years and 7 months, residing with plaintiff upon a farm about four miles southwest of the elevator hereinafter mentioned. He was presumably in full possession of all his faculties. The country was level prairie, with nothing but buildings to obstruct the view. The roads, judging from the photographs in evidence, were not worked or traveled much, and were in fact little more than wagon tracks across the prairie. Defendant's track, going northerly at and near a station called Kittson, bears slightly to the east. Parallel to this track, on the east side, and about 80 feet distant, was one of the wagon roads we have referred to. There was no station house at Kittson, and the only buildings were east of the main track, namely, a railroad section house, a small tool house, and the elevator. The tool house stood 270 feet north of the section house, and the elevator 900 feet north of the tool house. The elevator was 32 feet wide, and at the rear — east side — was the usual driveway for wagons. The front of the elevator stood 50 feet from the main track. A side track left the main near the tool house, and, passing close by the elevator, connected again something over 500 feet northerly. A road from plaintiff's farm ran northeasterly across the prairie, crossing the main and side tracks 480 feet north of the elevator, and it was at this crossing that the collision occurred. Fifty-four feet east of the main track, and a few feet east of the side track, was the railroad ditch, covered, where crossed by the highway, by a small bridge or culvert. Twenty feet from the culvert, or about 74 feet east of the main track, the wagon tracks bore to the right and to the left into the north and south road we have spoken of.
On the morning in question, William Judson, the intestate, went to the elevator with a load of wheat, driving a spirited pair of horses, which his father had owned about one year. He had driven the team several times, and was capable of managing them under ordinary circumstances. He was acquainted with the roads and the surroundings. An older brother, Robert Judson, was in company with him, driving another team. Robert and Ernest Hanna, neighbors, went at the same time, each driving a pair of horses attached to wagons loaded with wheat. All crossed the tracks at the usual crossing, turned south at the forks of the road, and went to the elevator, where the Hannas first unloaded. Robert Judson then took the team driven by his brother, the deceased, unloaded the wagon, and went to the foot of the driveway for his own team and load. Young Judson drove his own team out of the way, and, after getting off the driveway, turned squarely to the north, and started back towards the crossing. Robert and Ernest Hanna had driven over the crossing, had then noticed the train coming from the south, and, after driving a few rods westerly, observed young Judson driving northerly towards the forks of the road. They stopped their horses, and at once became fearful of a collision. They were the only witnesses who plainly saw the coming train, the boy with his team, and the collision; and their testimony as to what occurred was exceedingly fair and impartial.
Each of these men noticed that the team was upon a sharp trot, the speed increasing as the horses came on towards the railway crossing, so that, in their opinion, the horses, when they turned westerly at the forks of the road, were traveling from six to seven miles an hour. The boy did not look towards the railway tracks at all from the time these witnesses saw him, soon after he emerged from behind the elevator, but drove straight on, seemingly engaged in arranging the empty sacks on the bottom of the wagon bed. Both witnesses feared that his attention was so much given to the sacks that he would not observe the train, and every movement of the boy and the horses was anxiously noticed by these two men up to the time the latter turned west, 74 feet from the rails of the main track. The boy could not then be seen by the men because of the position of the horses. The train, consisting of a locomotive, 10 or 12 box cars, and a caboose, was a "wild" freight, running at an unexpected time, and the rate of speed, as estimated by plaintiff's witnesses, was from 15 to 35 miles an hour. It made the usual amount of noise, but there was testimony which would have warranted the jury in finding that no bell was rung or whistle blown...
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