Ruotsala v. Holzhauer

The initial cause from which this appeal is now taken arose from an action for the wrongful death of Roger Lloyd Ruotsala, age 17. The boy was fatally injured when struck by an automobile operated by the defendant, Clarence Frank Holzhauer, at approximately 1:30 a.m. on June 29, 1966, near Nestoria, Michigan. Plaintiff Lloyd W. Ruotsala is the administrator of the deceased’s estate.

The pertinent facts are as follows:

Defendant and three others were enroute to a convention in Hancock, Michigan, at the time of the accident. Decedent, intent upon visiting his grandparents, had been hitchhiking…