Northern Pacific Railroad v. Freeman

Citations

• 174 U.S. 379
• 19 S. Ct. 763
• 43 L. Ed. 1014
• 1899 U.S. LEXIS 1499

Syllabus

<p>A highway in the State of Washington crossed the Northern Pacific Railroad at about right angles. It approached the railroad through a deep descending cut, and the track was not visible to one driving down until he had reached a point about forty feet from it. Preeman was driving a pair of horses in a farm wagon down this descent. When he emerged from the cut and reached the point from which an approaching train was visible he was looking ahead at his horses. A train was coming up. The conductor, the engineer and the fireman testified that the whistle was blown. Three witnesses, who were not in the employ of the railroad, and who were in a position to have heard a whistle if it had been blown, testified that they did not hear it. When Preeman became conscious of the approaching train he tried to avoid it; but it was too late, and he was struck by the train and was killed. So far as there was any oral testi-» mony on the subject, it tended to show that Preeman neither stopped, looked nor listened before attempting to cross the track. Held, That the testimony tending to show contributory negligence on the part of Preeman was conclusive, and that nothing remained for the jury, and that the company was entitled to an instruction to return a verdict in its favor.</p>