Lyons v. Midnight Sun Transportation Services, Inc.

928 P.2d 1202 (Alaska 1996)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Esther was killed when her Volkswagen van was struck broadside by a truck driven by Jette and owned by D. When the accident occurred Jette was driving south in a right-hand land when Esther pulled out of the parking lot in front of him. Jette braked and steered away, but Esther continued her advance. Jette's truck struck Esther, and she died. Evidence at trial conflicted on the actual speed of Jette, and he may have been driving as fast as 53 mph. D testified that the collision would have occurred even if Jette had been driving 35 mph. P's expert testified that if Jette had stayed in his own lane, there would have been no collision. D countered in that Jette's response was normal. P objected to the trial judge’s jury instruction on the sudden emergency doctrine which stated that in an emergency a person needs only to act as a reasonably careful person would act in a similar emergency. The jury found that Jette was negligent, but that negligence was not the cause of Esther's death. P appealed; the trial judge should not have instructed on the sudden emergency doctrine.