People v. Black

The defendant was found guilty of the crime of manslaughter. The evidence discloses that on the evening of June 7, 1930, at about 8:30 P. M. at the intersection of Mt. Vernon and Rialto Avenues in the city of San Bernardino, one Mrs. Minear was struck and killed by an automobile. Mt. Vernon Avenue is a main highway and Rialto Avenue is 54 feet wide from curb to curb. The corner was poorly lighted, and the intersection was a blind intersection within the meaning of the California Vehicle Act. The only eye-witness was sitting in his parked machine at a service station on this corner and was facing the intersection. Pie testified that a man in a Graham-Paige sedan, traveling north on Mt. Vernon Avenue, ap proaehed the intersection at a speed of about 35 miles per hour. His attention was first attracted to the car by the speed at which it was coming. He first saw the car when it was 10 or 15 feet from the south line of the intersection. In a small fraction of a second thereafter, and when the car was about entering the intersection, the brakes on the car were applied. He heard the noise of the tires skidding on the pavement, and continued to watch the car, which went in a…