180 Wis. 329 | Wis. | 1923
Appellant’s first contention is that there was no evidence in support of. the finding of the jury that the driver of the automobile was negligent in his operation and management thereof at the time of the injury. The evidence as to how the accident happened is very meager. A witness, Camille Tralonge, testified that she saw the little girl coming across the street, and the truck coming from the south on Milwaukee street. She was unable to testify as to the rate of speed at which the truck was coming, but testified that it did not slow down before striking the little girl, and that it r^n twenty-five or thirty feet before it stopped after striking her; she was struck about five feet from the east sidewalk and was thrown into the east gutter. The witness also testified that the driver did not blow the horn. The fact that the little girl was thrown into the east gutter indicates that she must have been struck by the right side of the machine and that she had gotten nearly across the pathway of the truck when she was struck. The further fact that the driver did not slow down indicates that he was not keeping a lookout which should have enabled him to have seen the little girl and, by very slight digression, avoided striking her. We think this feature of the case presented a jury question.
A more important question is whether the evidence supports the finding of the jury to the effect that the driver of the truck was at the time engaged in the defendant’s busi
Although the defendant testified that he did not know that the truck was in that vicinity on that day and that he had no business Which required its presence at that place, and that, if it was there, it was driven there surreptitiously by his employee and for the employee’s private benefit, the jury found to the contrary. The jury was not obliged to believe defendant’s testimony. He described the person who drove' the truck on the day of the accident but did not have the person so described in court, the only excuse being that “I
It is further contended that the damages awarded are excessive. While $200 seems to be a liberal award, to reduce them would savor of hairsplitting.
By the Court. — Judgment affirmed.