Thomas v. Adams

• Court: Washington Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: TOLMAN, Justice.
• Citation: Thomas v. Adams, 174 Wash. 118, 24 P.2d 432 (Wash. 1933)
• Decision Date: 14 August 1933
• Docket Number: 24553.
• Parties: THOMAS et ux. v. ADAMS et al.

24 P.2d 432

174 Wash. 118

THOMAS et ux. v. ADAMS et al.

No. 24553.

Supreme Court of Washington

August 14, 1933

Department 2.

Appeal from Superior Court, Grays Harbor County; William E Campbell, Judge.

Action by G. L. Thomas and his wife against J. D. Adams, John O'Donnell, Flora M. O'Donnell, and others. From a judgment for plaintiffs, second and third named defendants appeal.

Affirmed.

Ralph S. Pierce and Edmund Stafford, both of Seattle, for appellants.

Thos L. O'Leary, of Olympia, for respondents.

TOLMAN Justice.

This is an action for personal injuries arising out of a somewhat complicated automobile collision, or series of collisions. Defendants Adams did not appear in the action and were defaulted. The verdict of the jury was in favor of the defendants Avey. Defendants O'Donnell alone appeal from the judgment on a verdict against them.

At the time in question three automobiles were proceeding in a westerly direction on the Olympic highway in Grays Harbor county toward the city of Elma. First was the Adams car with a trailer attached. A short distance behind it was the Avey car driven by Mrs. Avey, and some little distance behind the Avey car was the Thomas car driven by the respondent Mrs Thomas. The appellants' car was proceeding easterly, approaching the point where the accident occurred, from the direction opposite to that of the other cars. As the three cars proceeded westerly, the Thomas car was traveling the most slowly and it had been passed by the Adams car and trailer and also by the Avey car. Shortly after so passing the Thomas car, the Adams car crossed a bridge, and the trailer attached, being insecurely fastened or having become loosened, struck the guard rail on the right and was thrown violently to the left, where it came into collision with the left front of the Avey car. Just at this instant the O'Donnell car, traveling on its own side of the highway, approached the spot and came into collision with the trailer as it was thrown off by the Avey car. The vital point bearing upon the question of the driver O'Donnell's negligence is whether the collision with the trailer put his car out of control so that he should not be held to have been negligent in permitting his car thereafter to enter upon and continue along the wrong side of the highway until it came into collision with the Thomas car, thus causing the injuries complained of.

It is vigorously argued that the appellants are the victims of circumstances; that the driver O'Donnell could not have foreseen that the trailer would be thrown into his pathway and could have done nothing to avoid the accident. If appellants' evidence be accepted without question, such a conclusion would, no doubt, follow.

Undoubtedly respondents' car was at all times on its proper side of the highway and proceeding at a very moderate rate of speed. The collision between it and the appellants' car was due to the fact that the appellants' car entered and continued on its wrong side of the highway until the two cars came into collision. Appellants' car being on the wrong side of the highway at the instant of the collision and thus causing the collision, the burden was upon them to justify or excuse its being there.

There was evidence from which the jury might have found that appellants' car was traveling at a high and unlawful rate of speed immediately Before and at the time of its collision with the...