Swope v. Todd, 45748.
| Decision Date | 09 December 1941 |
| Docket Number | No. 45748.,45748. |
| Parties | SWOPE v. TODD. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from District Court, Hardin County; Sherwood A. Clock, Judge.
A suit for damages for injuries growing out of a collision between the automobiles of the defendant and John Swope, the plaintiff being a passenger in the car driven by John Swope. Verdict and judgment for plaintiff. Defendant appealed.
Reversed.
Lundy, Butler & Lundy, of Eldora, for appellant.
James L. Cameron and W. H. Soper, both of Eldora, for appellee.
Primary Highway 57, an east and west road, intersects with a graveled county road which runs north and south about five miles east of Eldora.
About 11 o'clock in the morning of March 24, 1940, plaintiff was riding in an automobile driven by John Swope who was approaching the intersection from the east on Highway 57 and defendant was approaching the highway from the south on the county road. There is quite a large area immediately north and south of Highway 57 constituting “Y” approaches to the intersection.
Approximately 90 feet south of the intersection, curved roadways branch off of the county road in northeasterly and northwesterly directions in wide rounding curves which enter Highway 57 about 80 feet from the center of the intersection of the north and south county road with Highway 57. This construction of the “Y” intersection forms, in effect, three roadways or approaches to Highway 57 from the south.
We will refer to the roadway running in a northwesterly direction as the northwest road, the continuation of the county road running straight north across and through Highway 57, as the north road and the road running in a northeasterly direction as the northeast road. About 50 feet south of points 50 feet east and west of the center of the intersection formed by the north road with the primary road there are stop signs on the east side of the northeast road and on the west side of the northwest road. The distance between the signs is approximately 90 feet. From the stop signs, the roadways curve rather sharply to the northwest and the northeast. The stop signs are for the guidance and control of traffic approaching the pavement from the south and intending to drive east or west thereon. This “Y” approach to Highway 57 was constructed in a manner that constituted an invitation and direction to persons not intending to proceed north across and beyond Highway 57 to use the curved roadways leading into the primary highway.
Defendant, intending to go west on Highway 57 into Eldora, in approaching Highway 57 did not drive his car north on the east side of the north road in order to make his left turn at the intersection of the north road with Highway 57. He drove his car on the east portion of the northwest roadway, leaving about 12 feet between his car and the west shoulder and stopped about 4 feet from the pavement. He testified he saw the Swope car approaching from the east, thought he had time to safely cross over to the north side of the pavement and proceed west ahead of the approaching car from the east. When defendant had reached a point at least 100 feet west of the intersection of the north road with the primary road and was in the north one-half of Highway 57, the Swope car drove into his car from the rear, which collision resulted in very severe injuries to the plaintiff.
The disposition we make of this case makes it unnecessary for us to consider the sharp conflict in the evidence as to the circumstances surrounding the accident.
Plaintiff alleged in her petition that defendant was negligent:
...
To continue reading
Request your trial