Granville

Plaintiff Ruth M. Granville sued defendants Short, Parsons, Burris, Keddie and Ginter for the wrongful death of her husband and her own personal injuries. When the case went to trial before a jury all defendants except Parsons had been dismissed. The trial was on the issue of liability only. The verdict was in favor of Parsons and plaintiff appeals.

The basic facts of the accident out of which the action arose are as follows: On Sunday afternoon, June 24, 1962, Burris, Parsons and Short, in that order, were westbound on the San Bernardino freeway at about 6:15 p.m. Heavy traffic forced Burris to come to a stop. All cars were in the inside lane. Burris was rear-ended by Parsons. Short applied his brakes. For reasons which are in dispute Short lost control of his ear and it veered over the center divider onto the eastbound portion of the freeway. There it collided with a car driven by the decedent John Paul Granville, in which plaintiff Ruth M. Granville was a passenger, and another car driven by the defendant Ginter. John Paul Granville lost his life in the accident and Ruth M. Granville received personal injuries.

Before the jury was impaneled plaintiff settled with Short for…