Hargrave

Plaintiffs, Robert and Arlene Hargrave, brought suit against defendants, William and Verna Winquist, alleging that their negligence was the cause of injuries suffered by plaintiffs as a result of a four-car freeway accident. After a jury trial, a special verdict was rendered finding defendants to have been free of negligence. Plaintiffs appeal from the judgment in defendants’ favor.

Plaintiffs contend that the judgment must be reversed because of claimed prejudicial error in the giving of certain jury instructions. While many of the contentions raised by plaintiffs are without merit, we have concluded that the trial court erred in giving certain conflicting instructions, that, under the facts of this case, the error was prejudicial, and that the judgment must be reversed.

Facts

Uncontradicted testimony at the trial established that the freeway accident happened in the following manner. The accident occurred on December 16, 1974, at approximately 10:30 to 10:45 a.m. Plaintiff, William Hargrave was traveling southbound on the San Diego Freeway in the number four, or slow lane, in a 1969 Ford pickup truck. Defendants William and Verna Winquist were also traveling…