334 335 Charles Muller-Plaintiff-Direct. Q. How long did you work for him? A. Five years. Q. What was the nature of your work as painter-what kind of work did you do? A. We worked in pretty big buildings, scaffolding inside and scaffolding outside, tossing 44 foot ladders up Q. Would you handle 44 foot ladders yourself? A. I can. Q. About what does a 44 foot ladder weigh? A. It would average about 125 pounds. Q. These scaffolds that you speak of, how would you work those? A. There are two men. When you get up to a certain height, one man on each end pulling himself up, maybe with two or three gallons of paint on it. Q. So you are pulling up the scaffolding yourself and painting? A. Yes, sir. Q. And does that require strength? A. It does. Q. How about the pots of white lead-did you carry them around in the course of your work? A. Yes, sir. Q. And what would a pot of white lead weigh? A. About 100 pounds. Q. You would carry around 100 pounds of 336 white lead? A. Yes, when we were unloading. Q. You were able to unload these without any difficulty? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you find it possible to do any hard work now? A. No, sir; I could not; I am stooping over on lifting-I am no good. Q. Where do you feel any disability on lifting, any pain? A. In the first place, if I grab anything my right hand would not like it and if I stoop, I get it through the stomach. Q. Do you feel anything with reference to your Charles Muller-Plaintiff-Direct. back? A. Yes, especially when I sit down-it 337 seems as if something presses on both sides of the back. Q. Are you wearing any back support now? A. Yes, sir. Q. What is the nature of it? A. I just don't know the name of the belt which was ordered for me by the hospital. Q. Do you wear that all the time? A. Yes, sir. Q. And that is being worn by orders from the Mineola Hospital? A. Yes, sir. Q. How long have you been wearing that? A. Four months, about. Q. What obligations have you incurred in the Mineola Hospital? Do you know, Mr. Muller, for your medical care and attention for the two months that you were there? A. Something around $300. Q. Is that the total bill? A. Not yet, I don't know how many more examinations I still have to have. Q. Have you paid anything to any other doctor in addition to that? A. No, sir. By the Court: Q. Have you had any work since the accident? A. No, sir. By Mr. Lally: Q. Do you feel able in your present condition to resume your regular work at this time? A. No, sir. Mr. Lally: That is all. A. 338 339 Charles Muller-Plaintiff—Cross. 340 Cross examination by Mr. Miller: 341 342 Q. I understood you to say that you were one of the drivers of this apparatus before the accident? A. I was. Q. They had two or three designated drivers, did they, for fire apparatus? A. Yes, sir. Q. And you were one of them that from time to time took it out? A. Yes, when I was there. Q. And on this particular day, on July 15th, 1930, you were standing on the right side runningboard near the seat? A. I was. Q. Holding on to the seat? A. There is a brass railing there. Q. Had you been working that day? A. Why no-it was towards evening. Q. In the daytime, I mean? A. Yes, I was. Q. And the painting business was slack last year? A. Very slack. Q. Now, as you approached this Southern State Parkway on Little Neck Road, did you have any trouble with seeing cars on the Parkway? A. No, sir. Q. You have driven an automobile? A. I have. Q. And you are a pretty good judge of speeding? A. I am. Q. You testified here that you saw this Buick automobile when you were about 25 feet away from the Southern State Parkway, coming about 50 miles an hour; is that right? A. Yes, sir. Q. You were 25 feet away from the Parkway then? A. On the top of the hill. Q. That is about 20 feet away? A. Yes, sir. Q. And then there is a dip of the road and a grade crossing on the Southern Parkway? A. Yes. Charles Muller-Plaintiff—Cross. Q. How far up on the Southern State Parkway 343 to the west of Little Neck Road was this Buick that you saw coming at 50 miles an hour? A. When I seen that car from there, it looked about 350 feet away. Q. And the truck that you were on at that time was going about how fast? A. It hit about 25, and she was slowing down to 12 miles an hour. Q. So your truck went about 25 feet to the corner of the Parkway? A. Yes. Q. And then it went halfway across the Parkway? A. Yes, sir. Q. The Parkway is pretty wide? A. No, I don't 344 think it is. Q. Well, it has four lines of traffic? A. Yes, sir. Q. Two lines eastbound and two lines westbound? A. Yes, sir. Q. And by the time you reached the center of the Southern State Parkway the Buick had not reached the truck, had it? A. It was just about coming on it. It was just swinging in to the second strip of concrete. Q. How wide would you say the Parkway was60 feet? A. No, it is not 60 feet. Q. Well, 50 feet? A. I should judge about 30 345 feet. Maybe seven or eight feet each strip. Q. Then, you went 25 feet to the Parkway and halfway across 15 feet. The truck that you were on went 40 feet, while this automobile came 350 feet-is that right? A. Yes, sir. Q. And you arrived at the same time, is that right? A. No. Q. How far was the Buick from the truck when you arrived at the center of the Southern Parkway? A. I should say, maybe 30 to 35 feet. 346 347 348 Charles Muller-Plaintiff Cross. Q. While the truck that you were on was traveling a distance of 40 feet, this automobile came a little over 300 feet? A. Around 300 feet, yes. Q. And when the truck that you were on was out in the center of the Southern Parkway, the Buick car was then about 35 feet away? A. About, yes. Q. Was the truck that you were on then headed south or headed east? A. Headed south. Q. And hadn't made any turn? A. Not until the impact. Q. Well, there was a Ford car standing right in front of you on the highway? A. It was not just in front of us, no. Q. Where was it? A. They had room to get through; our driver swung away and brought it over to the Ford. Q. What I mean is that this Ford that was standing was standing on the south line of the concrete? A. Yes, sir. Q. And there was standing about in the middle of what would be the Little Neck Road, if it was crossing the Parkway? A. It was not exactly in the middle, but a little off from the middle. Q. Near the middle? A. Yes, near the middle. Q. That is just the place where your truck was going to go south on Bellmore Avenue? A. Yes, sir, right there. Q. It was right in the way? By the Court: Q. If you had kept right on across the Parkway, it would have been in your way? A. No, sir, there was a chance of getting through. Q. Where was there a show of getting through, |