Opinion ID: 1306731
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Instruction on parking and stopping a vehicle on a highway.

Text: The appellant contends there was no credible evidence in this case that the deceased's vehicle was parked or stopped on a highway. Therefore, the instruction bearing upon those questions was improper. We do not agree. In this case, the position of the deceased's car indicated that at the time of impact he was either backing out of the tavern lot, turning into the tavern lot or his car was simply stopped on the highway. There was testimony that he had not been in the tavern that night, thus making it unlikely that he was backing out of the lot. There was also testimony that the eastbound lane was clear of traffic for a substantial interval of time prior to the collision; thus, if the deceased was turning into the lot, there was nothing to prevent him from completing the maneuver. The turn could have been completed while the defendant's car was in a skid for a distance of 48 feet before impact. The defendant testified that the accident happened too fast for him to make a positive judgment as to whether the deceased's car was moving or not at the time of the collision. He stated that if it was moving at all, it must have been going very slowly. From these facts, the jury could reasonably infer that deceased's car was stopped or parked on the highway. The appellant contends that the testimony of Kilian Furger, the bartender at the tavern, makes it impossible to find anything other than that the deceased was in the act of turning into the tavern at the time of collision. Furger stated that he was standing behind the bar looking out a window in the tavern door, and he saw two sets of headlights go past, moving west, and a few moments later he heard a crash. The implication here is that he saw the headlights on the deceased's car and then saw the lights on the defendant's car and then heard the crash. This would indicate that the deceased's car was moving at the time of the collision. But there was other evidence from which a contrary conclusion could be drawn. One witness said that the ignition of the deceased's car was on after the accident but the lights were not. Yet the lights worked perfectly when they were turned on by the tow truck driver. This evidence, if believed, would indicate that Furger was in error when he said he saw two sets of lights heading west just before the crash. In any event, all that is necessary to support the giving of the instruction is that there be some credible evidence which would justify a conclusion by the jury that the vehicle was stopped. There was such evidence in this case; and the presence of other evidence justifying an opposite conclusion does not preclude the giving of the instruction. Consequently, the trial court was not in error in giving the parking and stopping instruction.