Glass v. Bell

Birdsong, Judge.

Three appeals arise out of a $35,000 verdict for the wrongful death of Johnny Bell, against defendants Charles A. Glass and Douglas County. On August 11, 1984, Bell died after he drove his new three-wheel “all terrain vehicle” under a cable strung across a road by defendant Glass. The cable, which Glass had hung with yellow and orange “neon” plastic streamers so as to make it clearly visible, struck Bell in the larynx, severing it from his trachea.

The plaintiff’s case in essence is that Poole Road, the dead-end, dirt road Bell was traveling, was a public road by use,…