Fluhart v. Seattle Electric Co.

Citations

• 65 Wash. 291
• 118 P. 51
• 1911 Wash. LEXIS 917

Syllabus

<p>Street Railways — Collision with Pedestrian — Contributory Negligence — Evidence. A pedestrian is guilty of contributory negligence, as a matter of law, in stepping in front of a well-lighted car approaching on an unobstructed street with which he was familiar, on a foggy night, where he was looking and could see a block away in the opposite direction and “walking right along,” and was struck hy the car before he reached the track, and the physical facts dispute his oral statement that, just before, he had looked for and could not see the approaching car.</p> <p>Same — Contributory Negligence — Proximate Cause. Where the contributory negligence of a pedestrian in stepping in front of an approaching car is the proximate cause of the accident, there can be no recovery, although the car was negligently run at an excessive speed.</p> <p>Same — Duty op Motorman — Last Clear Chance. The doctrine of the last clear chance to avoid an accident does not apply to a case where a pedestrian walked in front of a well-lighted approaching street car, on an unobstructed street, and was struck by the car before he reached the track, after he had looked and could have seen the approaching car, as the motorman had a right to assume that he would stop and let the car pass.</p>