Larson v. Stadelman Fruit, Inc., 34747

• Decision Date: 20 November 1958
• Docket Number: No. 34747,34747
• Citation: 332 P.2d 52,53 Wn.2d 135
• Parties: Bert C. LARSON and Loma Larson, husband and wife, Appellants, v. STADELMAN FRUIT, Inc., a Washington corporation, and Ruben Aichele, Respondents.
• Court: Washington Supreme Court

Page 135

53 Wn.2d 135

332 P.2d 52

Bert C. LARSON and Loma Larson, husband and wife, Appellants, v.STADELMAN FRUIT, Inc., a Washington corporation, and Ruben Aichele, Respondents.

No. 34747.

Supreme Court of Washington, Department 1.

Nov. 20, 1958.

Felthous & Brachtenbach, Selah, for appellants.

George W. Wilkins, Yakima, for respondents.

MALLERY, Justice.

Plaintiffs sued for the damages sustained when their car was struck in the rear by a truck driven by defendant Aichele and owned by defendantStadelman Fruit, Inc.

At the close of plaintiff's case, the trial court granted a judgment of non-suit on the ground that plaintiffs were contributorily negligent as a matter of law by stopping their vehicle on the highway in violation of RCW 46.48.290[cf.Rem.Rev.Stat., Vol. 7A, § 6360-110].The plaintiffs appeal.

The accident occurred at about 4:30 p.m., October 18, 1956, on U. S. highway 410 between Sunnyside and Granger, approximately two hundred feet west of its intersection with Decker road.It is a two-lane highway and has an upgrade from Decker road west past the point of the accident.

A school bus traveling from west to east had stopped on the highway preparatory to making a left turn into a grocery-store driveway, and had its amber left-turn light flashing.Its doors were closed, and it was not loading or unloading, although it had school children aboard.

Appellants and respondent Aichele were traveling in the opposite direction, about one hundred fifty to two hundred feet apart.When appellant driver was about one hundred fifty feet east of the Decker road, he started pumping his brakes so that his brake lights would signal to the respondent truck driver behind him that he was slowing down.He did this because of the school bus stopped on the road ahead.When he reached a speed of about five or ten miles an hour at a point twenty to fifty feet from the bus, he shifted into second gear to maintain momentum going upgrade, and came to a stop with his front left-hand window opposite the driver's window of the bus.He waited to see if any children were coming around the rear end of the bus.In a matter of seconds, his car was struck in the rear by respondent Stadelman's truck.

It is respondent's position that the appellant driver was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law, by reason of violating RCW 46.48.290, supra, by stopping on the highway where he was not, in fact, required to stop.The statute reads:

'It shall be unlawful for any person to stop, park, or leave standing any vehicle, whether attended or unattended, upon the paved, improved, or main traveled portion of any public highway outside of cities...