A Deadly Lift Leads to Heavy Judgment
A Seattle gardener faces financial ruin after a jury finds him liable for his friend's death following an intoxicated ride in his truck.
It cost Francisco Gonzall, a Seattle gardener, $6,250 to give his friend, Mike Tate, a ride on his auto truck. A jury in Superior Judge J. T. Ronald’s court awarded that sum to Tate’s widow, Angelina Tate, after listening to testimony that Gonzall was intoxicated. Tate was thrown from the truck, which was said to be going at a high rate of speed, and sustained mortal injuries. He died at the City Hospital three days after the accident.
“It cost Francisco Gonzall, Seattle gardener, $6250 to give his friend, Mike Tate, ride on his auto truck.”
This tragic case from 1925 echoes the ongoing legal and social consequences of impaired driving, which were as much a matter of civil litigation then as they are in modern liability courts.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.