Fries v. Brakenridge

Finan, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. This appeal which arises out of a chain automobile collision affords a good example of how not to start a day at the races. ⁶⁷⁹ On Saturday, April 3, 1965, at approximately 12:30 P.M., Mrs. Charlene L. Fries, appellant and plaintiff below, of Springfield, Virginia, a 42 year old housewife, was operating a Karmann Ghia automobile in a northerly direction on the Baltimore-Washington Expressway. It was a sunny day and the roadway was dry. She was on her way to Laurel race track for a day at the races.

At a distance of approximately one-quarter of a mile from the intersection of the Baltimore-Washington Expressway with Powder Mill Road she was driving behind an automobile owned and operated by Thomas Orvil Dando, one of the appellees and one of the defendants below. Both vehicles were proceeding in the fast lane, but because something was glaring in her eyes, she proceeded to pass the Dando vehicle. His car did not move to the slow lane and Mrs. Fries decided to pass him on the right hand side. Before passing she observed her speed to be 45 miles per hour.

At this moment Dando’s vehicle appeared to be slowing down. Dando had maintained approximately 6 or 7 car length’s distance from the car immediately in front of him which was being driven by Charles P. Howard, Jr., an appellee and one of the defendants below. Mrs. Fries passed Dando, and upon observing Dando’s car in her side-view mirror and when she felt that it was safe to do so, she reentered the left lane. She was approximately 25 to 30 feet in front of Dando.

During this time Dando maintained the same distance between his vehicle and the Howard vehicle and Mrs. Fries was halfway between both vehicles. After reentering the fast lane she had to apply her brakes “almost immediately”, according to her, or in terms of seconds “three seconds, I’d say.” She states that she did so because she had heard the sound of braking in front of her, and then she heard a light tap or colliding sound in front of her. At that moment she maintains that she was completely in the left lane. The closest vehicle immediately in front of her was four or five car lengths away.

This was the beginning of a chain collision which was triggered by the abrupt stopping or deceleration of a ve ⁶⁸⁰ hide, which remains unidentified, which was in front of the vehicle operated by Edward K. Brakenridge, an appellee and one of the defendants below. Brakenridge had slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting the car in front of him. He had been traveling at approximately 50 miles per hour. Upon applying his brakes, Brakenridge was struck in the rear by Howard’s vehicle and shoved a few feet forward.

Two or three seconds later, Brakenridge heard and felt another impact, this one being very slight. Howard was required to brake his car because of the sudden stopping by Brakenridge. Mrs. Fries, having observed the collision in front of her, brought her car to a rapid stop. She maintains that she stopped about 12 to 14 inches from the Howard vehicle in front of her.

Her engine went out and she was looking down at the red light on her dashboard when she was struck from the rear by the vehicle operated by Dando. The force of this impact shoved her into Howard’s vehicle. Immediately after the accident, Dando came over to her and stated that he tried to miss her but could not. Actually, there was a disagreement among the parties as to the sequence of impacts.

However, since this case was decided below on the basis of a directed verdict for all of the defendants, the statement of facts which we have adopted for the purpose of this opinion is Mrs. Fries’ version, the one most favorable to her. Trusty v. Wooden, 251 Md. 294, 297 , 247 A. 2d 382 (1968), and Trionfo v. Hellman, 250 Md. 12, 15 , 241 A. 2d 554 (1968). ■' Mrs. Fries eventually filed suit in the Baltimore City ■Court for personal injuries and property damage against Brakenridge, Howard and Dando. A trial on the merits was held May 5, through May 7, 1969, and after the jury had heard all of the testimony, Judge Harry A. Cole granted the motions of the defendants for a directed verdict on the basis that Mrs. Fries was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law and was barred from .recovery; It is from the granting of the directed verdicts that this appeal was taken. ■ In the Baltimore City Court, there were also consoli ⁶⁸¹ dated-with Mrs. Fries’ suit against Dando, Brakenridge and Howard, appeals from the Peoples Court of Baltimore City. In one appeal the judgment in the Peoples Court had been rendered in favor of Mrs. Fries and Brakenridge, as defendants, in which Howard had been the plaintiff; and in another appeal the judgment in the Peoples Court had been rendered for Mrs. Fries and Dando, as defendants, in which Brakenridge had