George T. Pyle and Shirley J. Pyle v. United States

ROSS, Senior Circuit Judge.

The United States appeals the judgment of the district court awarding $250,000 in damages to appellees George T. Pyle and Shirley J. Pyle on their claims brought pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act. For the reasons explained below, we reverse.

The Pyles’ claims arose from injuries they sustained on December 5,1981 when a vehicle driven by Patrick Martin crossed the center line of Highway 32 near Bolivar, Missouri and collided nearly head on with the Pyle vehicle. At the time of the accident, Martin was a Petty Officer in the United States Navy. The sole issue…