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Youngblood v. Lee11/2/2005
duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons, nor shall such provisions protect the driver from the consequences of his reckless disregard for the safety of others.
In determining the proper standard of care that La. R.S. 32:24 imposes on the driver of an emergency vehicle, the Louisiana Supreme Court in Lenard v. Dilley, 2001-1522 (La. 01/15/02), 805 So. 2d 175, found that it contains two alternate standards, depending on the circumstances. If subsections A, B and C of La. R.S. 32:24 are met, an emergency vehicle driver will be held liable only for actions which constitute reckless disregard for the safety of others. On the other hand, if the emergency vehicle driver's conduct does not fit subsections A, B and C of La. R. S. 32:24, such driver's actions will be gauged by an ordinary negligence standard. Id. at 180.
As noted in Lenard:
"Due care" is synonymous with ordinary negligence. "Reckless disregard," however, connotes conduct more severe than negligent behavior. "Reckless disregard" is, in effect, "gross negligence." Gross negligence has been defined by this court as "the want of even slight care and diligence. It is the want of that diligence which even careless men are accustomed to exercise."
Id.
Appellants agree that because the trial court determined that Sgt. Lee was responding to an emergency call with his lights and siren activated, the correct standard of reckless disregard or gross negligence was applied to Sgt. Lee's actions. However, they argue that the Youngbloods failed to meet the burden of proving that Sgt. Lee's actions constituted a reckless disregard for public safety or that Sgt. Lee was grossly negligent. Applying the stated standard of review and for the following reasons, we do not agree with the appellants that the trial court's conclusion was manifestly erroneous.
As Sgt. Lee testified at trial, on the date of the collision he had been in the sheriff's office performing paperwork when he overheard an emergency dispatch to the patrolling deputy. Sgt. Lee, although he testified as to not knowing the exact proximity of the patrolling deputy, believed he was closer to the scene and called that deputy off so he could take the call. In so doing, he headed to the scene in his dark green patrol unit with activated lights and siren. On this particular vehicle, the lights were not roof mounted--they were installed in the grille of his vehicle. Of some note, Sgt. Lee testified that as he traveled through the town of Mansfield during this response call, he stopped at a stop sign and four signal lights.
At the time of impact, Sgt. Lee's emergency lights and siren were activated. As Sgt. Lee drove west on Hwy. 84, he passed a Wal-Mart store and began to approach the Kings Hwy. intersection. Sgt. Lee testified that he was "several hundred feet" away from the intersection when he first saw Cheryl's vehicle and that he watched Cheryl "roll to a stop at the stop sign" and then proceed directly across Hwy. 84. In an effort to avoid colliding with the Youngblood vehicle, Sgt. Lee braked and swerved across the centerline of Hwy. 84 into the eastbound lane where his vehicle struck the Youngblood vehicle. It was Sgt. Lee's testimony that Cheryl saw him coming, and he looked at her "eye-to-eye." On the police accident report which is attached hereto as Appendix "A," Sgt. Lee's speed was noted as 65 m.p.h. in a posted speed zone of 45 m.p.h.
Cheryl's testimony contradicts Sgt. Lee's. Contrary to his assertion that he saw her roll up to the intersection and then stop, she testified as to being stopped at the intersection for some time. She described reaching the intersection at Hwy. 84 and co
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