Olson

is an appeal by defendant from a judgment in an action brought by plaintiff against him as the driver of an automobile. The injuries sustained were the result of a collision, and defendant is charged by plaintiff with wilful misconduct in the operation of his car.

At the time of the collision plaintiff was a guest of defendant, and the single issue here presented is whether the accident and injuries sustained by plaintiff were the direct and proximate result of wilful misconduct on the part of defendant, as that term is defined in section 141¾ of the California Vehicle Act. Defendant, appellant herein, contends that the evidence adduced is insufficient to support the implied finding of the jury that he was guilty of wilful misconduct, and it will therefore be necessary to consider in some detail the evidence adduced.

As plaintiff and defendant were proceeding along the Golden State highway north of Madera in the county of Merced, about 9 or 9:30 o ’clock on an evening of May, 1932, they approached a fleet of three trucks, each drawing a trailer, the truck and trailer being about 40 feet in length over all, and traveling at intervals of 200 to 300 feet at a rate of approximately…