Walker v. Shea-Matson Trucking Co‪.‬

Rehearing denied November 13, 1951 This is an action to recover damages for personal injuries alleged to have been sustained by plaintiff as a result of a collision between an automobile, in which he was riding as a guest, and a truck owned by defendant Shea-Matson Trucking Company and operated by defendant Ryan. Trial by jury resulted in a verdict and judgment for $90,000. Defendants' motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for a new trial were overruled. Afterwards upon the filing by plaintiff of a remittitur of $20,000 the judgment was reduced in a like sum. Defendants appeal. The collision occurred about 12:30 p.m. on May 11, 1948, at the intersection of Damen Avenue and Polk Street in the City of Chicago, Cook county, Illinois. These streets intersect at right angles. Early on the day of the accident it had rained and at the time of the collision the streets were slightly damp. The visibility was good and there were no obstructions to vision at the intersection. Damen Avenue at the intersection of Polk Street is 56'2"" wide from curb to curb and has a double set of streetcar tracks running down the center. The distance between the east rail of the streetcar tracks and the curb of Damen Avenue is 20'5"". Polk Street is 38 feet wide from curb to curb. Plaintiff was riding north on Damen Avenue in an automobile driven by Curtis Hall, his employer. Defendants' truck was being driven east on Polk Street. On the day of the occurrence Curtis Hall left his place of business, a short distance south of the scene of the accident, accompanied by plaintiff and one John Thomas, another employee. Plaintiff sat in the rear seat of the automobile on the left side, and Thomas sat next to Hall. As Hall drove north on Damen Avenue his automobile was about two or three feet from the east curb and when it neared Polk Street there were two automobiles proceeding in the same direction, the nearest one of which was twenty or thirty feet ahead of him. This car slowed down as it reached Polk Street, and Hall's automobile, which had been traveling about 20 to 25 miles an hour, also slowed down to 15 or 17 miles an hour when it reached a point about 15 feet south of the south curb of Polk Street.