Pikesville, R. & E. G. R. R. of Baltimore County v. State

Citation42 A. 214,88 Md. 563
PartiesPIKESVILLE, R. & E. G. R. R. OF BALTIMORE COUNTY v. STATE, to Use of RUSSELL et al.
Decision Date20 December 1898
CourtCourt of Appeals of Maryland

Appeal from superior court of Baltimore city; Albert Ritchie, Judge.

Action by the state of Maryland for the use of John E. Russell and Sallie A. Russell against the Pikesville, Reistertown & Emory Grove Railroad of Baltimore county for the negligent killing of James E. Russell. From a judgment in favor of plaintiff, defendant appeals. Affirmed.

Argued before McSHERRY, C. J., and BRISCOE, BOYD, PAGE, PEARCE, FOWLER, and SCHMUCKER, JJ.

Thomas R. Clendinen and William L. Marbury, for appellant.

Richard B. Tippett, James E. Tippett and William S. Bansemer, for appellee.

PAGE, J. This suit was brought by the appellee, for the use of the father and mother of James E. Russell, whose death it is alleged was caused by the negligence of the appellant. Russell entered the service of the appellant on the 18th day of May, as a conductor on one of its cars, and on the same day, while attending to his duties, was killed by being struck by one of the poles that supported the overhead wires. The route of the car to which the deceased had been assigned was from Owings Mills to Emory Grove. Russell had already made two trips before the accident happened. The structure of the appellant consists of a roadway with a single track, alongside of which the poles are stationed. The car was an open summer car, with seats running entirely across, and a footboard on each side, used as a step for persons entering the car, and as a means for the conductor to pass from one end to the other. The footboard projects 15 inches beyond the rail. The pole which struck the deceased was No. 300, located 2 feet 1 inch from the track. The distance of other poles from the track, as measured, was: No. 301, 2 feet 8 inches; No. 302, 2 feet 7 1/2 inches; No. 303, 2 feet 9 Inches; No. 299, 2 feet 4 1/2 inches; and No. 298, 2 feet 8 inches. From the place of the accident the road is straight each way for 350 feet, and there are no obstructions, natural or other, to prevent pole No. 300 from being placed further from the track and in line with the other poles. When the car reached the Hannah Moore Academy the motorman nodded his head to the conductor that they had come to the place where he could begin to take up fares. There were several such points, and the motorman had been instructed to tell Russell, who was a new man, where those points were. Russell was to take up the fares anywhere before reaching the next section. When Russell caught the motorman's nod, he stepped onto the footboard from the rear platform, on the side next to the poles, swung himself along the side of the ear, holding to the handles, until he came opposite to a bench whereon were seated Mr. and Mrs. Logsden, two of the passengers, who had boarded the car near Hannah Moore Academy. Mrs. Logsden was seated about midway the bench, and was nearer to the side where the deceased was than her husband. When he came opposite this bench he stopped, turned towards them, and, slightly inclining his body into the car, reached forward his hand for the fares. It was then that he was struck by pole No. 300. His head was driven violently against the handle of the car, and he received a fatal injury. There was evidence tending to prove that if pole No. 300 had been the same distance from the track that the others were he would have escaped injury, and that the proximity of that pole rendered it unsafe to collect fares on that side of the car; and that the roadway on the other side, at that point and for some distance, was incumbered with fences, trees, and a telephone pole, so as to make it unsafe to collect fares from that footboard. There was evidence on the part of the defendant tending to prove this was not correct,—that there were no serious obstructions; that it was dangerous all along the road to collect fares on the pole side; that the witness Tracy saw the danger from pole No. 300 before it was reached, and tried to warn the conductor, and there was nothing to prevent Russell from seeing it also. No instructions were given the conductor except such as he received from the motorman as to the places where the fares were to be collected. Russell was a steady man, but unused to the trolley in the country, having had experience only as a conductor on a cable car in the city. A little while before the accident the motorman had said to him, "You are a good, steady man, and you had best be careful; if one of these poles catches you, it will fix you," and Russell had replied "he hoped not." Russell was a "stoutish-built man, full stomach, weighing about one hundred and seventy pounds." At the time of the accident the "car was going nearly as fast as possible."

Three exceptions were taken at the trial, but the first...

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16 cases
  • Mccabe v. Mont. Cent. Ry. Co.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Montana
    • May 6, 1904
    ......County; J. B. Leslie, Judge.        Action by Joseph D. McCabe against ...Cable Co., 8 Mont. 440, 20 Pac. 669). In the case of Pikesville, etc., R. Co. v. Russell, 88 Md. 563, 42 Atl. 214, the court said: “It ...15, 31 Pac. 999; Greek v. McManus, 13 Mont. 152, 32 Pac. 675;State v. Benton, 13 Mont. 306, 34 Pac. 301;Mayer v. Corothers, 14 Mont. 274, 36 ......
  • State, for Use of Strepay v. Cohen
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Maryland
    • April 26, 1934
    ......28. Court of Appeals of Maryland April 26, 1934 . .          Appeal. from Baltimore City Court; Charles F. Stein, Judge. . .          Action. by the State, for the use ... parent. Should such parent become a public charge within the. state, then any county or municipality may recover from time. to time the sum expended for the maintenance and support ...449, 468;. Baltimore & O. R. R. Co. v. State, to Use of Mahone, . 63 Md. 135, 145; Pikesville, R. & E. G. R. Co. v. State,. to Use of Russell, 88 Md. 563, 573, 42 A. 214; Elder. v. R. R. ......
  • Sun Cab Co. v. Walston
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    • Court of Special Appeals of Maryland
    • April 17, 1972
    ...41 Md. 268 (1875), Philadelphia, W. & B. R. R. Co. v. State, to Use of Bitzer, 58 Md. 372 (1882), Pikesville, etc. R. Co. v. State, to Use of Russell, 88 Md. 563, 42 A. 214 (1898), and many other A refinement of the stated measure of damages was made by the Court of Appeals in President, et......
  • McCabe v. Montana Cent. Ry. Co.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Montana
    • May 6, 1904
    ......County; J. B. Leslie, Judge. . .          Action. by Joseph D. ...Cable. Co., 8 Mont. 440, 20 P. 669). In the case of. Pikesville, etc., R. Co. v. Russell, 88 Md. 563, 42 A. 214, the court said: "It is ...15, 31 P. 999; Greek. v. McManus, 13 Mont. 152, 32 P. 675; State v. Benton, 13. Mont. 306, 34 P. 301; Mayer v. Corothers, 14 Mont. 274, 36 ......
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