47 La. Ann. 268 | La. | 1895
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Plaintiffs in these consolidated cases sue for damages alleged to have been caused by the fault of those in charge of defendant’s trains of cars striking the wagon of plaintiffs, at the time crossing the tracks of defendant’s railroad. The result of the accident was the bodily injuries of plaintiffs and the damage to the wagon and horse. Prom judgments based on verdicts of the jury against defendant, this appeal is prosecuted.
The freight train was proceeding north from Monroe, and plaintiffs in the wagon were knocked off the track at Sicard Crossing. Almost parallel with the track is the road from Monroe, and along this road the wagon was on its way, intending "to cross the tracks at Sicard. On the west side of the track, from which side plaintiffs attempted to cross, there is a seed house about one hundred and forty feet in length, placed there by defendant; south of the crossing, and between the crossing and the house, there was, when the accident occurred, two box cars on a siding. It is charged in the petition, the house and box cars obstructed the view of the train coming from the south, and made it impossible, until on the main track, for any one to see a train approaching in that direction. It is alleged that when the plaintiffs in the wagon reached the crossing, with no view to the south, owing to the obstructions of the house and box cars, and not warned by any whistle of the approaching train, nor able to hear any train or noise, they started to cross, but before clearing the track the wagon was struck by the engine, the plaintiffs thrown to the ground with great violence, causing serious internal injuries to plaintiffs, besides the damage to the wagon and the crippling of the horses. The negligence attributed to defendant is, that the train was running at an unusual rate of speed, passing the station at-an unexpected time not scheduled; that the engineer failed to ring the bell or sound the whistle at the whistling board, about 1000 feet from the crossing, and the obstacles placed by the defendant, preventing any one from seeiDg the train.
The train leaving Monroe going north stops at Parker’s Crossing. Next is Sicard, about a mile distant. The train on the track is easily perceived from the road approaching -che track, and almost parallel to it in some places. Along this road the plaintiffs in the wagon were riding on the evening of the accident, and another wagon was a short distance behind. We do not affirm it to be the duty of a traveler to look behind, but it can not fail to impress the mind that a freight train of eleven cars moving along this railroad near by, making the usual noise and nearing the point the wagon was to ■cross, should have attracted no attention from the plaintiffs in the wagon. Any one approaching the track he is to cross is usually prompted to use both sight and hearing. Those in the rear wagon both saw and heard the train and hallooed, as they express it, to plaintiffs. Plaintiffs heard neither voice or train. When plaintiffs reached the crossing the train was very close at hand, striking the wagon before it cleared the track. Sicard is a flag station where the train does not stop, unless flagged. It is such a point freight trains may be expected to pass, if not at all times, as one of the witnesses expressed it, at least not with the regularity of passenger trains. True, the sight south was interfered with by the side cars and the seed house. These obstructions, while they are not to be lost sight of in considering the question of responsibility, certainly should have suggested caution to travelers about crossing the tracks. It seems to us that caution could not have been observed by the plaintiffs. If,
It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed that the judgment of the lower court be avoided, annulled and reversed at plaintiffs’ cosls.
Rehearing refused.