Toriyama

Plaintiffs sued to recover damages resulting from the death of Heizo Toriyama, deceased. The jury returned a verdict in favor of defendants and from the judgment entered thereon, plaintiffs appeal.

At about 5 P. M. on the evening of November 18, 1931, the deceased, in company with another Japanese, was driving his automobile in a northerly direction on the -road to Martinez just north of the town of Walnut Creek. Defendant George A. Putnam, hereinafter referred to either as defendant or respondent, was driving the automobile of defendant G. Blalock Putnam in the same direction and had followed the deceased through the town. Both cars were being operated at a moderate speed of between 25 and 30 miles per hour. At the point where the accident occurred the road had an asphalt surface about 22 feet in width with ragged edges or “chuck holes”. On either side of the asphalt there was a shoulder of hard dirt and gravel, the shoulder on the easterly side of the road being quite wide. An engineer called by plaintiffs, testifying with respect to this shoulder, said, “It can be a roadway.” There was a line of poles near the edge of this shoulder. The accident occurred when the car of the…