King v. Gold

• Citation: 276 N.W. 774,224 Iowa 890
• Decision Date: 14 December 1937
• Docket Number: No. 44105.,44105.
• Parties: KING v. GOLD.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Iowa

224 Iowa 890
276 N.W. 774

KING
v.
GOLD.

No. 44105.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Dec. 14, 1937.

Appeal from District Court, Polk County; Loy Ladd, Judge.

This is an action for damages plaintiff alleges she sustained by reason of an automobile accident which occurred at the intersection of two county trunk roads in Polk county. Plaintiff was riding as a guest in a car driven by her husband, and alleges that her injuries were due to the fault of the defendant in particulars which will appear in the opinion. The defense was a denial, and an affirmation that the injuries plaintiff sustained were solely caused by the carelessness of her husband. At the close of all the testimony the court sustained defendant's motion to direct a verdict in his behalf; hence this appeal.

Affirmed.

Putnam, Putnam, Fillmore & Putnam, of Des Moines, for appellant.

Hallagan, Fountain, Stewart & Cless, of Des Moines, for appellee.

SAGER, Justice.

This cause presents the familiar picture of an automobile accident occurring at an intersection. It calls for the announcement of no new principles nor the extension of those heretofore laid down by us. For this reason we purposely refrain from analyzing the numerous cases cited by the parties hereto. These have been spread upon our records in recent years so frequently that “he who runs may read.”

This accident occurred at the south edge of the city of Des Moines, at the intersection of McKinley avenue and South Union

[276 N.W. 775]

street. McKinley runs east and west, and South Union north and south. At the time of the accident, Colonel King, plaintiff's husband, was approaching the intersection from the north; his wife sitting beside him. His approach was upgrade, and, according to his testimony, he was driving at a speed of between 35 and 40 miles an hour. As he entered the intersection, the defendant came from the west on McKinley avenue. Defendant's approach was down a slight decline to the intersection. He was driving a gravel truck which, with its load, weighed approximately 10,000 pounds. The King car was a 1935 Chevrolet sedan. Its weight is not stated.

There is no direct conflict in the testimony of the principals to the accident because it happened so suddenly that neither could cast much light on the movements of the other; and the arguments of the parties are devoted largely to drawing inferences from what plaintiff terms the “physical facts.” While numerous cases have been cited by both parties, there is really little, if any, difference between them as to the rules of law applicable to accidents of this kind. Their differences arise from the deductions which they make from the circumstances disclosed by the record.

Without attempting to give the many details which may be found in the testimony of Colonel King (plaintiff's husband), this, in substance, appears to be his version of the accident:

He had never driven over this road before. As he approached...