Title: Napier v. Southern Pacific Co.

State: oregon

Issuer: Oregon Supreme Court

Document:

Affirmed October 30, 1959.
*372 E.B. Sahlstrom, Eugene, argued the cause for appellant. On the brief were Thompson & Sahlstrom, Eugene.
Joseph Larkin, Portland, argued the cause for respondent. On the brief were Koerner, Young, McColloch & Dezendorf, John Gordon Gearin, and Wayne Hilliard, all of Portland.
Before PERRY, Chief Justice[*], and ROSSMAN, McALLISTER[**] and O'CONNELL, Justices.
McALLISTER, C.J.
This is an action brought by the administratrix of the estate of Jerry Lue Eanes against Southern Pacific Co. to recover damages for the alleged wrongful death of said decedent, a fifteen year old girl. The court directed a verdict for defendant and plaintiff appeals.
The accident occurred at about three o'clock in the afternoon on July 20, 1953, at a point where defendant's main line track is crossed by a county road *373 in the vicinity of Westfir in Lane county. The road runs in an easterly and westerly direction and the railroad in a southerly and northerly direction. Jerry Lue was riding in a pickup truck which was being driven by her aunt, Mable Napier, in an easterly direction. The vehicle was struck at the crossing by defendant's northbound passenger train No. 20. The day was clear and sunny with good visibility. Jerry Lue and her aunt lived about a block and a half from the crossing.
There is a tunnel about 330 feet south of the crossing. The track curves slightly but it is possible to see the crossing from a point about 115 feet inside the tunnel. There were some shrubs and trees growing along the south side of the road west of the crossing but no evidence of any obstruction along the railroad right-of-way between the crossing and the tunnel. A standard railroad cross-arm warning sign stood on the south side of the road just west of the track. An electric wigwag signal equipped with bell and light stood just east of the track also on the south side of the road.
Both Jerry Lue and her aunt died as a result of the accident and the only eye witnesses were the engineer, the fireman and a Mrs. Olson, who lived near the crossing. The fireman was called as a witness by the plaintiff and testified that he was stationed on the left side of the cab; that he saw the pickup when it was about 15 or 20 feet from the crossing approaching slowly from the west; that the vehicle pulled over the first rail and then stopped with the front portion of the vehicle near the center of the track; that the engineer applied the emergency brake about halfway between the tunnel and crossing; that the engine hit the pickup and threw it off the track and that the *374 train stopped about a train length after the brakes were applied; that with the train traveling at a speed of 40 to 45 miles per hour as it emerged from the tunnel, it was not possible to stop the train before it reached the crossing. The fireman testified that the headlight and the oscillating headlight on the engine were burning and that the engineer blew the whistle as the train cleared the tunnel. He further testified that it was a part of his job to observe signals but that he did not notice the wigwag nor hear the bell of the signal ringing as the train approached the crossing.
The engineer, who was called by the defendant, testified that when he was still a short distance in the tunnel he saw the pickup which was then about three feet from the track moving very slowly  that the vehicle moved right up onto the track and stopped with the front end over the first rail. According to the engineer, the train was traveling from 40 to 45 miles per hour; that about half way between the tunnel and the crossing, he made an emergency application of the brakes  as soon as he realized the pickup was not going to move. The train stopped in about a train length with the last car about 200 feet north of the crossing. The engineer testified that the headlight and the oscillating headlight were both burning, that the bell of the engine was ringing and that he sounded the whistle as the train emerged from the tunnel. He also testified that he rode on the right side of the cab, that the wigwag signal was on the right side of the track and that the signal was operating as the train approached the crossing.
The only other eye witness was a Mrs. Olson who lived on the county road west of the crossing. She died before the trial in the court below but her testimony *375 given at a former trial of this case was read to the jury by the defendant. Mrs. Olson testified that she was on the back porch when the pickup passed her house. She did not see the pickup but heard Jerry Lue and her aunt talking and laughing and recognized Jerry Lue's voice. She was going in the back door when she heard a peculiar blast of the whistle which caused her to run to the front porch from where she could see the crossing. She saw the pickup "on the track when the train hit it just as I come out on the porch." She was asked whether the vehicle was still moving or not and answered, "I don't know whether it was moving or not. It looked like it was standing still when I seen it."
Mrs. Olson testified emphatically that the wigwag signal was working  that she heard it before she reached the front porch and from the porch both saw and heard the signal in operation.
The county road is level for about 25 feet west of the track and then descends toward the west at a grade of about six percent. Blevings Napier, the husband of the driver of the pickup, testified that because of the brush and trees on the south side of the road, "you had to be within about ten feet of the railroad track at the time before you could see the full part of the tunnel." From a scale drawing and photographs introduced by plaintiff, however, it appears that the tunnel could be seen from a point on the road 20 feet or more west of the track.
We deem it unnecessary to review all the evidence and believe the foregoing is a sufficient background against which to consider plaintiff's contention that the court erred in directing a verdict for the defendant. Plaintiff contends that this was an extra-hazardous *376 crossing requiring the maintenance by defendant of a signaling or warning device and that she produced substantial evidence tending to prove that defendant's wigwag signal was not working at the time of the accident.
1. Whether a particular railroad crossing is extra-hazardous is sometimes a question for the jury and at other times is a question of law for the court. See Schukart v. Gerousbeck, 194 Or 320, 241 P2d 882, in which a number of earlier cases are reviewed. We deem it unnecessary to decide whether the crossing involved in this case was extra-hazardous. We are satisfied that under the circumstances of this case the automatic wigwag signal, if operating, provided reasonable warning of the approach of defendant's train. The case then turns on whether plaintiff offered substantial competent evidence tending to prove that the automatic signal was not operating at the time of this accident.
Plaintiff relies on the testimony of several witnesses, including herself, who testified that they did not hear the wigwag signal operating prior to the accident. However, all of these witnesses admitted that they were not paying any particular attention at the time and admitted in effect that the bell could have been ringing without attracting their attention. The plaintiff, Ola Bell Napier, who was the grandmother of Jerry Lue, testified that she was in her home sitting at the sewing machine when the accident occurred. She testified as follows:
Blevings Napier testified that he was in the house with his mother, Ola Bell Napier, and did not hear *378 any bell or any signal prior to the accident. However, on cross-examination, he testified:
Douglas Lloyd Logan was employed at the Westfir store about four or five blocks west of the crossing. He testified that he heard the sound of the collision but did not hear any bells or whistles from the train before he heard the crash. When asked whether he could have heard the bells or whistles if there had been some ringing or blowing, he answered:
On cross-examination he said:
Miss Johnson, who lived near the crossing, testified that she heard the scream of the whistle and the crash of the accident but did not hear the bells or any signaling devices before the crash. She testified that she had heard the bells and signaling devices from the same position on other occasions but did not say whether she was paying any attention on this occasion.
*379 Mrs. Ricker, who was riding in a vehicle driven by her husband and arrived at the crossing a short time after the accident, testified that she did not hear any whistles or bells prior to the accident but on cross-examination also admitted that she wasn't paying any particular attention and was not listening for whistles.
Michael J. Werner testified that he was at his home about 400 feet from the crossing and did not hear any bells or other signaling devices prior to the accident but also admitted that the bell at the crossing could have been ringing and that he was not paying any more than ordinary attention. On cross-examination he testified that:
2. In considering negative testimony, this court has said, in Lovett v. Gill, 142 Or 534, 541, 20 P2d 1070:
3. From the later case of Fish v. Southern Pacific Co., 173 Or 294, 307, 143 P2d 917, 145 P2d 991, we take the following:
Again, in Spence, Adm'x, v. Rasmussen et al., 190 Or 662, 677, 226 P2d 819, this court quoted with approval from 32 CJS, Evidence 1081, § 1037, the following:
4-6. We are fully conscious of the fact that in deciding whether the trial court properly granted a directed verdict we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and that generally questions of fact must be resolved by the jury. Having reviewed the evidence in that light, we conclude that the evidence offered by the plaintiff was not sufficient *382 to warrant submitting to the jury the question of whether the automatic signal was operating. A finding that it had not been operating could only be based on speculation.
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
[*]  Chief Justice when case argued.
[**]  Chief Justice when case decided.

AFFIRMED.