Nardone v. Underwood

Keating, Jr., J., by special assignment, delivered the opinion of the Court. This is an appeal by the plaintiffs below from the action of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County in granting the defendants’ motion for a directed verdict at the close of all the evidence on the ground that the plaintiffs were contributorily negligent. On November 9, 1956, at 2 P. M., the plaintiff, Mrs. Nardone, was operating an automobile owned by her husband, Wilfred E. Nardone, in a southerly direction on U. S. Route 301 approaching the intersection with Holly Lane, in Charles County, Maryland. The plaintiff, Wilfred E. Nardone, was also a passenger in the vehicle.

The weather was clear and dry. At the same time, the defendant, Joseph R. Underwood, in the course of his employment, was operating an automobile owned by the defendants, James L. Dobson and Robert R. Dobson, in a westerly direction on Holly Lane approaching the intersection with Route 301. Route 301 at this point is a divided highway running generally north and south, consisting of two lanes of traffic in each direction, the northbound and southbound lanes being separated by a 30-foot grass strip. Holly Lane is a two-lane road which runs generally east and west.

Both roads were hard surfaced. The intersection is not controlled by any stop signs or signaling devices, and there were no buildings or other obstructions blocking vision except a wooded section along the north side of Holly Lane 30 feet from the intersection. When the vehicles reached the intersection, a collision occurred between them. Mrs. Nardone testified that as she approached the intersection, she was driving in the extreme right-hand lane at a speed of between 35 and 40 miles per hour, which was a lawful rate of speed.

She looked first to the left and then to the ³²⁹ right, saw no traffic approaching, and proceeded across the intersection. While in the intersection, she was struck by the defendants’ vehicle approaching from her left. She never saw defendants’ vehicle. Mr. Nardone, who was also riding in the front seat as they approached the intersection, looked to the left and to the right and did not observe any traffic approaching on Holly Dane.

The force of the collision turned the plaintiffs’ vehicle ninety degrees to the right of the direction in which it was formerly heading and knocked it off the road, head-first into a ditch which ran parallel to Route 301. It came to rest, heading in a westerly direction, in a position south of the intersection and completely off the paved portion, on the right or westerly side of Route 301. Once past the wooded section on the north side of Holly Dane, Mr. Underwood could see for a distance of half a mile to his right, northward along Route 301. During the trial, there was a conflict of testimony in that Mr. Nardone testified that immediately following the accident he heard Mr. Underwood tell the police officer, who came to investigate the accident, that he (Mr. Underwood) had not stopped before entering the intersection; whereas, Mr. Underwood testified that he told the police officer that he had stopped before entering the intersection, and had pulled out because he did not see any traffic approaching in either direction.

Mr. Underwood further testified that he stopped before entering the northbound lane of Route 301, looked to his left, saw no traffic approaching and proceeded half-way across Route 301 and then stopped again before entering the southbound lane. Again he looked to his right and saw no traffic approaching, and then pulled forward to cross the southbound lane and collided with the plaintiffs’ vehicle. He also further testified that he did not see the plaintiffs’ vehicle until after the collision.