Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this bus accident/personal injury case and its proceedings.)
6. All eyewitnesses at trial contradicted Ms. White’s hearsay testimony.
During trial, the jury was presented testimony of three eye witnesses other than Petra White to events immediately surrounding a bus versus pedestrian collision: (1) Mrs. Timmon (2) Tina Jones, and (3) Kim Perry. It was uncontroverted that Elm Street’s westbound traffic light was green for both Chance and the bus as the bus entered the southern pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection of 4th and Elm. All these eyewitnesses testified they saw this pedestrian walking (not bolting) in the southern crosswalk before the bus turned into that crosswalk, except defendant’s bus driver who failed to see Chance at all. Ironically, no one had a view better view both south and east of the southern crosswalk of 4th and Elm than the bus driver — had he chosen to look that way.
Unless all four (including White) non-party eyewitnesses were wrong about seeing this pedestrian near or on fourth Street before seeing the bus turn left from westbound Elm St. to southbound 4th Ave., Ms. Chance was clearly visible to the bus driver (as White testified) if had he looked to his left from his position as he described during trial before he hit her. The only credible explanation for not seeing her as she approached the curb and or entered 4th Street is that Davie did not look in her direction or her image in his fisheye rear view mirror did not register in his consciousness. When turning left from a one-way street to another one-way street, the only vehicle traffic that potentially threatens the turning vehicle will be from its right, which is where Davie’ attention obviously was. (See Part 12 of 13.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.