Chicago & Alton Railroad v. McDaniels

Citations

• 63 Ill. 122

Syllabus

<p>1. Negligence ' of railroad compamy—failure to ring bell and sound whistle entire distance required. The omission of a railroad company to ring a bell or sound a whistle for the whole distance required by statute at the crossing of a public highway, by its trains, being eighty rods, will subject the company to the penalty given, but this will not subject it to liability in an action for damages, unless they were caused by reason of such neglect.</p> <p>2. Same—question of fact. Where a railroad company, on approaching a highway crossing with its engine and traiu, did not ring a bell or sound a whistle until within fort)' rods of the crossing, and plaintiff’s cow, after this signal, ran off the track and down by the side of it about one hundred feet, and then ran upon the track ahead of the train and was killed: Held, that whether the injury was caused by the failure to ring the bell or sound the whistle the entire distance of eighty rods, before reaching the crossing, was a question of fact for the jury, and in no respect a question of law for the court to pass upon.</p> <p>3. In such a case an instruction that, if the bell was not rung or the whistle not souuded at eighty rods from the crossing, and not continued until the crossing was reached, and the cow was killed by the train, to find for the plaintiff;, unless defendant had shown that such omission could not have avoided the killing, and that the burden of proving such fact was upon the defendant, was held erroneous, as it instructed the jury as to the weight and sufficiency of the evidence.</p>