148 P. 1137 | Or. | 1915
delivered the opinion of the court.
The testimony will be recounted before attempting to determine the soundness of the ruling made by the trial court. The deceased was aged about 19 years
After waiting about 20 minutes, Johnson and his three friends went to the dressing-room, and, having put on bathing suits, they walked to the deeper end of the tank, and there entered the water by diving in, after having passed a painted, but somewhat dimmed, sign which was designed to give warning that, “Persons diving do so at their own risk.” There is no evidence that Johnson observed the sign at any time, although Peck and Halvorsen had seen it on previous
That he saw Johnson dive in. “He stood upon the board. I don’t know, in some way he must have lost his balance. He was going to make a long dive, to make it shallow in the water; and in some way, when he went to spring, his feet kind of went out, and he came right straight down.” That “he couldn’t come down straight in three feet of water. ’ ’
When asked to explain how Johnson dived off when hurt, Ray Peck said that:
“He stood on the board, and -I was swimming toward the ladder. I was swimming sideways, and I could see Arthur dive, and I seen him as he came down. His foot seemed to slip, or he lost his balance in the air, and he came down straight, and I said, ‘That was a pretty straight one, old man,’ and turned and swam to the ladder.”
The evidence has been narrated and considered in a light most favorable to the plaintiff, and the conclusion is inevitable not only that Johnson knew the depth of the water, but that he also appreciated the danger: The fact that he attempted “to make a long dive to make it shallow in the water” reflects the knowledge then had by the deceased. After making due allowance for the difference in temperament, knowledge and judgment of different men, it is plain that reasonable minds would draw no other inference or conclusion from the unchallenged facts than that the deceased was guilty of contributory negligence because he dived off the spring-board with knowledge of the existing conditions and a realization of the hazard: Walsh v. Oregon R. & N. Co., 10 Or. 250; Massey v. Seller, 45 Or. 267 (77 Pac. 397).
The judgment of nonsuit was correct, and is affirmed. Afeibmed.