Wiedman v. Erie Railroad

This action is brought by plaintiff to recover for personal injuries sustained by him in the village of Tonawanda December 21, 1897, by reason of a collision with one of defendant’s passenger trains, and which collision, it is claimed by him, resulted from the negligence of said defendant in the operation of said train, without any concurring or contributing negligence upon his part. At the close of all of the evidence defendant’s counsel moved for a direction of a verdict, and this motion was granted; it not appearing whether the same was so granted because of supposed absence of .negligence upon the part of the defendant or of the presence of negligence upon the part of the plaintiff.

Beyond any question or necessity of discussion, the jury would have been entitled, among others, to find the following facts: The tracks of the defendant run through the village of Tonawanda in substantially a northerly and southerly direction. Robinson street, where the accident occurred, crosses them substantially in an easterly and westerly direction. Some considerable distance south of the highway crossing is the depot. Commencing from the east,—which is the direction from which plaintiff approached upon the occasion in' question,—the first track was that known as the “Lockport Branch,” and it was upon this that the accident occurred. Shortly before this track crosses Robinson street from the south, it makes a curve towards the east. The next, track was what was known as the “Scales Track,” and this was about 25 feet west of the Lock-port Branch, from which it divides at a short distance south of the crossing. The next track beyond this was the main track, running through to Niagara Falls; and beyond that was still another track. The plaintiff, who was a joiner and carpenter by trade, had been engaged in connection with his business easterly of defendant’s tracks during the afternoon of the day in question. Some time after 5 o’clock he came to Georke’s saloon, which was upon the southerly side of Robinson street, and east from the Lockport track between 80 and 90 feet. He stopped there a few minutes, and then about 5:4o or 5 ¡45 started to go home across the tracks in question. He was driving a lumber or democrat wagon with one horse attached. The horse was a gentle one. The plaintiff sat upon a board laid across the box of his wagon, the seat being about four feet from the ground and plaintiff’s head about six feet therefrom. He had in his wagon some tools and other things which may have made some noise. As he approached the tracks, his horse was upon a walk. Twice between Georke’s and the railroad tracks he listened and looked both ways for a train, the last time being when his horse was within about three feet of the Lockport track. It was dark, or growing dark. As he approached the tracks, he heard an engine somewhere off the crossing letting off steam. As he got upon the Lockport track, a freight train upon the scales track moved down upon or towards the crossing, and he stopped. Just then, looking again towards the south; he saw the passenger train which struck him coming around the curve at a distance of perhaps 120 feet. Its headlight was lit, but it had given no signal of its approach by whistle or bell. When it was within perhaps 50 feet of him, it

We come now to the discussion of an alleged obstruction to the view of defendant’s train formed by a bank situated in the angle south of Robinson street and east of the Tockport track. The extent of this obstruction is very largely decisive of the question both of defendant’s negligence and plaintiff’s freedom from negligence, and the defendant insists strenuously that upon all of the evidence it was not of such a nature as to permit the jury to find in favor of the plaintiff upon those questions. This bank (referring especially to the evidence of the plaintiff and one Barralley, a civil engineer, and one of plaintiff’s witnesses) west of Georke’s saloon and towards the railroad track was between 4 and 5 feet above the level of the roadway of Robinson street, becoming higher as one went westerly towards the railroad track, the highest point being 10 or 15 feet from the track. It extended to within 8 or 9 feet of the track, and then sloped doyvn some. On top of this bank, between the saloon and the track, was an outbuilding 15 by 9 feet, some trees, and a thick growth of brush or weeds from 2 to 4 feet high, which continued about the entire space. The witness Barralley, in answer to the questions of defendant’s counsel, expressed the opinion -that these trees or bushes would so interfere with seeing down the track towards the direction from which defendant’s train was coming as to have prevented plaintiff from seeing the train upon the occasion in question until it got within a very short distance .of the crossing. One of plaintiff’s witnesses (Gust), who sometimes drove a hose cart, testified upon his cross-examination by defendant’s counsel that he could see the* top of a train, the smokestack, and headlight upon a train coming as the one did in, question when he got by Georke’s saloon; that he thought the obstructions in question were about seven feet high, but that upon the seat which he occupied upon the hose cart his head was about eight feet above the ground. Plaintiff swears directly and positively that this bank and obstructions upon the night in question did prevent him from• seeing the approaching train; that he looked twice before he got upon the track, and did not see it. There is much other evidence upon this subject, both by plaintiff and by defendant. That upon the part of the latter, both through the oral evidence of witnesses and in the form of photographs and measurements, tends to belittle and minimize the extent of this obstruction. It is claimed, however, upon the part of the plaintiff, that between the time of the accident and the time of the making of the photographs and measurements this bank had been cut down more or less in the

Judgment and order appealed from reversed, and new trial granted, with costs to appellant to abide event. All concur.