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United Services Automobile Association v. Craft12/10/2003
In this automobile accident case, the defendants, Cecil Raymond Craft and Bo Construction & Dirt Company, Inc. ("Bo Construction"), appeal a judgment assessing them with 100% fault in causing the accident and dismissing their reconventional demand against Carol Ferguson and United Services Automobile Association ("USAA"). For the following reasons, we affirm.
FACTS
This motor vehicle accident involved a dump truck operated by Cecil Raymond Craft ("Craft"), owned by Bo Construction and insured by Legion Insurance Company, and a 1995 GMC Suburban operated by Carol K. Ferguson ("Ferguson"), owned by Drs. Ferguson and Lolley and insured by USAA.
On September 12, 1997, at approximately 11:30 a.m., the dump truck and the GMC Suburban collided at the intersection of La. Highway 616, also known as Arkansas Road, and Wallace Road. The intersection of La. Hwy. 616 and Wallace Road is a "T" intersection. La. Hwy. 616 runs east and west and Wallace Road runs north and south, terminating at the south side of La. Hwy. 616. Both roadways are two-lanes and northbound traffic entering La. Hwy. 616 from Wallace Road is controlled by a stop sign.
On the day of the accident, a utility maintenance project was underway at the intersection. Ellington Construction Company, Inc. ("Ellington") employees were working in a manhole located directly in front of the intersection in the northbound lane of Wallace Road. The employees had parked their work vehicle in the northbound lane of Wallace Road to the south of the manhole and placed orange barrels to the south and west of the work site. The construction completely blocked the northbound lane of Wallace Road at the intersection, thereby forcing northbound traffic to enter La. Hwy. 616 from the southbound (westernmost) lane.
Ellington employed Isaac Ward ("Ward") as a flagman to control traffic at the intersection of La. Hwy. 616 and Wallace Road. At trial, a diagram of the accident scene was introduced into evidence. Ward testified that he was standing to the north of the manhole, but east of the southbound lane of Wallace Road and slightly in the eastbound lane of La. Hwy. 616. He testified that, in addition to using a flag, he controlled the traffic entering the intersection from Wallace Road by blocking the open lane of the roadway with an orange barrel when there was traffic on La. Hwy. 616. Ward also testified that when traffic traveling northbound on Wallace Road approached the intersection, he stopped the eastbound traffic traveling on La. Hwy. 616 to allow vehicles to safely enter the highway.
Ward testified that when he saw Craft's dump truck approaching the intersection, he looked to the west, but did not see any vehicles approaching. He then waved Craft's dump truck out onto La. Hwy. 616. As the dump truck entered onto the highway, Ward looked to the west again and saw the white Suburban driven by Ferguson traveling east on La. Hwy. 616. Ward testified that his efforts to signal Ferguson to stop, by jumping up and down and waving his flag, were unsuccessful. He testified that Ferguson attempted to avoid the collision by maneuvering across the center line and veering to her left, but she collided with the dump truck. Ferguson's vehicle went off of La. Hwy. 616, where it ran into a ditch, destroyed two DOTD signs and finally came to rest off of the road some distance to the east.
At trial, Ferguson testified that she regularly traveled La. Hwy. 616 and was aware that the Wallace Road utility maintenance project had been ongoing for several days prior to the accident. She testified there had been flagmen at the intersection, but that none had ever stopped traffic on La. Hwy. 616. She als
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