Locke v. Greene

Citations

• 100 Wash. 397
• 171 P. 245
• 1918 Wash. LEXIS 760

Syllabus

<p>Municipal Corporations—Streets — Automobiles — Injuries to Pedestrian—Negligence—Last Clear Chance. In an action for the wrongful death of a boy playing in the street, run down by defendants’ automobile, it is proper to give instructions applying the “last clear chance” rule, where the liability depended on whether the defendant actually saw the boy and should have appreciated the danger in time to have avoided the accident, or whether the boy stepped in front of the car so that there was no time to avoid the accident.</p> <p>Same—Streets—Right to Use. In an action for the wrongful death of a pedestrian, run down by an automobile, it is proper to instruct that a pedestrian has the same right to use the street as the defendant had.</p> <p>Same — Streets—Use—Contributory Negligence—Instructions. In an action for the wrongful death of a pedestrian, run down by an automobile, contributory negligence is sufficiently defined by instructions that tell the jury, in substance, that, if there was failure on the part of the deceased to look for the approach of automobiles or failure to use ordinary care and thereby have avoided the accident, there could be no recovery.</p> <p>Same—Streets—Negligence-—-Question for Jury. In an action for the wrongful death of a pedestrian, run down by an automobile, a nonsuit is properly refused, where there was evidence that defendant was driving his automobile at an unreasonable rate of speed past a street car, upon boys playing in the street unconscious of his approach.</p>