Menchaca v. Helms Bakeries, Inc.

This is an action by plaintiffs Richard and Barbara Menchaca for damages resulting from the wrongful death of their 22-month-old son, Richard Menchaca, Jr., who was killed when run over by a bakery truck operated *539by an employee of defendant Helms Bakeries. Helms denied its negligence and asserted the contributory negligence of the child’s mother, Barbara Menchaca. The trial resulted in a jury verdict for defendant, and plaintiffs’ appeal.

We shall explain why we have concluded that the court committed prejudicial error in (1) directing the jury that there was no evidence that the truck was…