Opinion ID: 1605156
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: liability of jerry a. woods

Text: Nichols charged in his declaration that Woods was negligent in leaving his disabled vehicle protruding into and partially blocking the travelled portion of the highway for an unreasonable length of time and that such negligence proximately contributed to the cause of the accident and resultant injuries and damages suffered by Nichols. The tractor-trailer driven by Woods was loaded with soybeans. The rig was thirty-eight (38) feet long and had a gross weight of 71,020 pounds. The load of beans was so heavy that the trailer broke in half and Woods attempted to drive the rig off on the west shoulder of the highway. The shoulder was wet and muddy and he was unable to do so, leaving the trailer approximately eighteen (18) inches on the west side of the paved portion of the highway and partially blocking it. The time was approximately 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 31, 1979. Woods spent the remainder of that night at a 24-hour truck stop and did not remove the rig from the highway before the collision occurred at approximately 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 1, 1979, approximately thirty-one and one-half (31 1/2) hours later. The evidence is uncontradicted that while the Brooks Nova automobile was in the vicinity of the Woods soybean truck, it suddenly veered to the east across the centerline into the path of the Nichols vehicle. Brooks testified that he first saw the truck-trailer when he was between a quarter of a mile to a half-mile away. [4] He further testified, in part, as follows: Q. O.K. Mr. Brooks, go ahead. I want to find out exactly how this wreck happened. A. And as I was approaching the eighteen-wheeler I moved over slightly to my left to insure that the right-hand passenger side on which my aunt was driving [riding] would not go into the eighteen-wheeler, which was sticking in our line. And at the same time the eighteen-wheeler was situated near a big, ole gully. Just in case something strange happened, I didn't want to be on that side of the gully. So at the same time it was two objects coming toward us. O.K. It appeared that one of the objects was passing the other object. And as we were approaching the eighteen-wheeler, I was approaching the eighteen-wheeler, and the markings were saying  I don't know whether they were flashing or whether they were little triangles, but I knew that the eighteen-wheeler was not moving, and I clicked on my blinkers or flashed my headlights on and off like you're driving at night and someone is passing and they're coming at you and you flash the light on to say you're there, slow down, back it up, get back in, because there's originally not enough chance, me going at my speed and you going at your speed, so we can both get through that square. And as I put my blinkers on, instinct or something told me to move a little bit closer and see what was going on. And as I moved to see what was going on, I said, What the hell? And when I said hell, I woke up in the hospital. Q. So that's the last thing you remember? A. That's the last thing I remember, with the exception of, as I said, this silver streak, I said in the deposition given in October, came across my right hand. I don't know what this silver streak was. (Emphasis added). The photographs indicate that the tractor-trailer was a huge and imposing rig and appeared to block more than the west eighteen inches of the paved portion of the highway. Brooks was concerned for the safety of his aunt who was sitting on the passenger side, due to the presence of the tractor-trailer, and he drove to his left. The fact that the tractor-trailer was near a big gully also gave him concern for her safety. It is undisputed that he moved away from the stalled rig toward the east. The evidence is also undisputed that the Nova then suddenly crossed the centerline into the northbound lane. The jury and the court can apply their own experience and knowledge in driving and meeting situations on highways. It is a matter of common knowledge that the driver of a vehicle approaching another vehicle stopped on the edge of the pavement, or on the shoulder, almost subconsciously will drive to his left in order to place distance between his vehicle and the stopped vehicle and such is true even on an interstate highway. The question arises here as to whether or not Woods reasonably should have foreseen that some accident may have occurred as a result of the tractor-trailer's being stopped on the highway, even though he may not have foreseen the specific accident which did occur. If an approaching vehicle had driven into the southbound lane in which Brooks was driving the Nova, forcing Brooks to drive within six (6) inches of the west edge of the pavement thereby causing him to hit the tractor-trailer parked there, resulting in injury to him, could it be said that Woods was not contributorily negligent? If he would be negligent under those facts, why should he not be negligent under the present facts? In Belk v. Rosamond, 213 Miss. 633, 57 So.2d 461 (1952), one Wiley left a disabled automobile parked on the south side of a bridge approximately one hundred fifty (150) feet from the west end of it. The Rosamond automobile was proceeding westwardly on the bridge, left the north lane of travel and ran into the Wiley vehicle. In holding Wiley liable, the Court said: Frank Wiley, Jr., admitted that he had left his stalled automobile on the bridge from 4:30 o'clock a.m. until the midafternoon without taking any effective action to remove it from the bridge, although he had made two trips back to the stalled car during the morning. The fact that the bridge was 19 feet 3 inches in width and that approximately 13 feet of the traveled portion of the bridge remained unobstructed did not relieve him from the duty of taking prompt and effective action to remove the automobile from the bridge without unreasonable delay so as to avoid the danger created by the parking of the automobile on the bridge. In case a motor vehicle is disabled on the public highway so that is [sic] cannot be moved under its own power, if it can be removed from the traveled portion of the highway, it is the duty of the driver to so remove it. Keller v. Breneman, 153 Wash. 208, 279 P. 588, 67 A.L.R. 92. [213 Miss. at 643, 57 So.2d at 465]. This Court, in Paymaster Oil Mill Company v. Mitchell, 319 So.2d 652 (Miss. 1975) cited General Tire & Rubber Co. v. Darnell, 221 So.2d 104 (Miss. 1969), and stated the principle that applies to motions for directed verdicts, judgments n.o.v., and requests for peremptory instructions as follows: The established rule is when the court considers whether the defendant is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law, the court should consider the evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiff, disregard any evidence on the part of defendant in conflict with that favorable to plaintiff, and if the evidence and reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom would support a verdict for plaintiff, the jury verdict should not be disturbed. 221 So.2d at 105. [319 So.2d at 657]. We are of the opinion that, applying the principle expressed above to the facts and inferences in this case favorable to the appellee, there was a question for the jury to determine as to the liability of Woods, and we affirm on liability. AFFIRMED AS TO THE LIABILITY OF WOODS. SUGG, P.J., and BOWLING, HAWKINS, and DAN M. LEE, JJ., concur. PATTERSON, C.J., SMITH, P.J., and WALKER and BROOM, JJ., dissent.