Wyseur

The defendant appeals from a judgment in favor of plaintiff for damages in the sum of $30,000 for the death of Roy J. Wyseur, who was killed at a railroad crossing in Dixon by a train operated by the United States Railroad Administration.

The main line from Sacramento to San Francisco runs through Dixon in a general southwesterly direction. First Street is the main highway leading out of Dixon to the north. At the intersection of First Street and the railroad right of way the defendant had maintained gates operated from a tower on the west side of the street for several years prior to the accident. It had been the custom to operate the gates from 7:30 in the morning to 7:30 in the evening and to leave them open at other times. At 7:26 in the morning the deceased was riding as a guest in an automobile being driven north on First Street by James F. Salaberry at a speed of about fifteen miles an hour. At the crossing the automobile was struck by the engine of a west-bound train running at forty-five miles an hour and both men were killed. The engineer had shut off steam and the train was quietly drifting toward the station. The usual whistles had been sounded, and immediately before…