## Facts

- On July 18, 1964, Leslie Robinson Wright (age 22) rode as a guest passenger in a car driven by Homer Neal Wright with several friends in Bland County, Virginia.
- The group drove to obtain and drink beer; evidence showed the driver was under the influence when leaving and continued drinking.
- Witnesses described the driver’s operation as reckless, including high and excessive speed; some passengers protested.
- During a stop to buy more beer, a passenger offered to drive instead; Leslie agreed with the suggestion, but the driver refused to give up the wheel.
- Leslie nonetheless re-entered the car and continued riding despite the driver’s intoxication and reckless driving.
- The car ran off Route 606 and struck a tree, fatally injuring Leslie.
- The estate administrator sued for wrongful death alleging gross negligence and intoxication; the driver asserted contributory negligence and assumption of risk.
- A jury returned a $20,000 verdict for the plaintiff; the trial court entered judgment, and the driver appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether an adult of low mental capacity but not insane is held to the objective reasonable-person standard when assessing contributory negligence.
2. Whether the decedent was contributorily negligent as a matter of law by voluntarily riding with an obviously intoxicated, reckless driver and continuing to ride after an opportunity to withdraw.
3. Whether the trial court erred in refusing to strike the plaintiff’s evidence and in submitting the case to the jury given the asserted bar of contributory negligence.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed the judgment for the plaintiff and entered final judgment for the defendant.
- The court held the decedent was held to the reasonable-person standard despite low mentality because he was not insane.
- The court held the decedent was contributorily negligent as a matter of law by riding with a driver whose intoxication and reckless driving were apparent and by continuing to ride after an opportunity to alight.
- Because contributory negligence barred recovery, the trial court should have granted the defendant’s motion to strike and should not have allowed the verdict to stand.

## Legal Principles

- An adult who is mentally deficient but not legally insane is judged by the ordinary objective standard of a reasonable person for negligence and contributory negligence.
- A guest passenger is contributorily negligent when the passenger voluntarily rides with a driver whose intoxication and dangerous driving are obvious, and the passenger remains in the vehicle after a reasonable opportunity to leave or refuse further travel.
- In Virginia negligence actions, contributory negligence that proximately contributes to the injury is a complete bar to recovery, including in wrongful-death claims.

## Conclusion

The court concluded that the decedent, though of low mentality, was required to act with ordinary prudence and was barred from recovery because he knowingly rode with an intoxicated, reckless driver and continued to do so after an opportunity to withdraw, requiring reversal and final judgment for the defendant.


Wright v. Tate, 208 Va. 291, 156 S.E.2d 562 (Va. 1967)