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Torts Keyed to Dobbs
Podias v. Mairs
Facts
Defendants Mairs, Swanson and Newell were 18-year-olds drinking at a friend’s home. They decided to leave with Mairs driving while it was raining and the road was wet. Mairs lost control of the car, struck a motorcycle driven by Plaintiff Podias, and went over the guardrail. Swanson saw Podias lying in the roadway and because he saw no movement and heard no sound, told Mairs and Newell that he thought Mairs had killed the cyclist. Even though all three had cell phones, no one called for assistance. Instead, Mairs called his girlfriend, Swanson placed 17 phone calls in the next one-and-a-half hours and Newell made 27 phone calls in the next two-and-a-half hours, but none of them emergency calls. After ten minutes all three got back in the car and leave the scene. Swanson instructed Mairs “not to bring up his name or involve him in what occurred”. The three drove south for a short while until Mairs car broke down. Mairs pulled over in the bushes and waited for his girlfriend to arrive, while Swanson and Newell ran off into the woods. Meanwhile, a vehicle operated by Patricia Uribe ran over Podias, who died as a result of injuries sustained in both accidents. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Swanson and Newell and plaintiff appealed.
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