In the late afternoon of June 28, 1979, eight year old Domingo Maldonado, Jr. (Domingo) was struck by a car as he attempted to cross the street in front of his home. As a result of this accident, Domin
During the jury trial, at the close of Domingo’s case in chief, the trial court granted Alton’s Indiana Rules' of Procedure, Trial Rule 50 motion for judgment on the evidence. The trial court held that Domingo did not introduce any evidence that Alton was the driver of the car that struck him and concludеd that he did not sustain his claim. Too, the trial court held that Domingo was contributorily negligent.
The issues we must address are as follows:
(1) Was the evidence sufficient to establish that Alton was the driver of the automobile that struck Domingo,
(2) Was Domingo contributorily negligent; and
(3) Did the trial court erroneously exclude the testimony of one of Domingo’s witnesses because that witness failed to attend a deposition noticed by Alton.
Reversed.
I.
Driver’s Identity
Our task in reviewing the first challenge to the trial court’s action is to сonsider evidence from a perspective which is most favorable to the nonmovant, in this case, Domingo. After viewing the evidence this way, along with all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, we must determine whether there is evidence of probative vаlue to support each element of the claim to justify its submission to the jury. Whisman v. Fawcett (1984), Ind.,
In his opening statement, Gill’s counsel intimated that Alton was driving the cаr that struck Domingo. Domingo argues that these statements are admissions of fact that identify Alton as the driver of the car that struck him. Although Alton’s counsel points out that his opening statement did not contain an admission that Alton was a negligent driver, the only admission Domingo argued for is the fact that Alton was the driver.
In Lystarczyk v. Smits (1982), Ind. App.,
In the instant case, our review of the opening statement reveals that the attorney’s remarks did not ambiguously identify Alton as being the driver of the car, nor do we regard this fact to be part of anticipated proof. From the attorney’s remarks, it was clear that Alton was the driver of the car that struck Domingo, and it was error for the trial court to rulе that he did not sustain the burden of proof of this element of his claim. State v. Lewis (1982), Ind.,
II.
Contributory Negligence
Our review of the evidence most favorable from Domingo’s perspective, as called for by the teachings in Whisman, supra,
The trial court in the case at bar ruled that, as a matter of law, Domingo was contributorily negligent. This ruling was based on Smith v. Diamond (1981), Ind.
Hеre, there was evidence that Domingo looked both ways before starting across the street. Jimmy Maldonado testified that the ear that struck his brother failed to stop at a stop sign a short distance from the accident site, and it was traveling fast when it struck Domingo. The impact knocked the boy “about three houses down.” (R. 233). Given that evidence, it was error for the trial court to hold, based on Smith, that Domingо was contributorily negligent as a matter of law. In Smith the child admitted his negligence, whereas in the case at bar there is no such admission. In оur view, the uncontroverted evidence that Domingo stopped and looked before attempting to cross the street is sufficient to create an inference that he acted reasonably. Ultimately, whether or not Domingo’s behavior constituted contributоry negligence is a question of fact.
Our conclusion is that the action of the trial court was not appropriate under Smith or T.R. 50 bеcause the question of whether Domingo was contributorily negligent is an unresolved factual one. It is well settled that where the facts аre subject to more than one inference, contributory negligence is generally a matter for the jury. It is only where the facts arе undisputed that the question of negligence becomes one of law. Jones v. Gleim (1984), Ind.,
Additionally, Gill insists that Domingo was contributorily negligent as a matter of law because he violated two statutes by сrossing in the middle of the street and not yielding the right of way to an oncoming vehicle. I.C. 9-4-l-87(b) and I.C. 9-4-1-88(a).
In a recent case involving a child struck by a vehicle, in which these same statutes were at issue, it was held that the violation of a statute by a child must not be considered in the light of any presumption of negligence. Baller by Baller v. Corle (1986), Ind.App.,
III.
Witness Exclusion
Since we have concluded that there must be a new trial, we need not determine whether testimony of a witness was erroneously excluded.
The judgment of the trial court is reversed, and this cause is remanded for further рroceedings consistent with this opinion.
Notes
. Both Domingo and his brother testified that Domingo looked both left and right before starting to cross the street.
