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Hayes v. Crawford

Reasonable minds could differ as to whether the defendant was negligent, and whether his negligence was the proximate cause of the accident at issue.

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Plaintiffs Krystle Hayes and Kevin Henson brought this wrongful death action against defendants including Luther Sisson and Terry Crawford after a truck Sisson was driving crossed the center line and struck plaintiffs’ father’s vehicle, killing him. Sisson later pled guilty to charges arising from the accident including vehicular homicide in the second degree, following too closely, and failure to maintain lane. Plaintiffs obtained the trial court’s permission to dismiss Sisson and his insurer from the case. This appeal arises from the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to Crawford, who was driving a truck in front of Sisson and who stopped that truck successfully behind a car waiting to make a left turn off the highway on which all four vehicles were traveling at the time of the accident. In six related assertions of error, plaintiffs argue that questions of fact remain as to whether Crawford was negligent and whether that negligence was a proximate cause of the accident. We agree and reverse.

On appeal from a grant of a motion for summary judgment, we review the evidence de novo to determine whether a genuine issue of fact remains and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Rubin v. Cello Corp., 235 Ga. App. 250 510 SE2d 541 1998. As it determines whether a genuine issue of material fact remains, a court is bound to “view the evidence, and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, in the light most favorable to the nonmovant.” Cowart v. Widener, 287 Ga. 622, 624 1 697 SE2d 779 2010.

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