What is the test for admissible evidence in a wrongful death action?

The defendant offered to prove by the wife of the deceased driver that, prior to the accident, her husband had told her that 'he had been having trouble with the brakes.' The court sustained an objection thereto upon the ground that the testimony in question was hearsay and also under the rule in Carr v. Duncan, 90 Cal.App.2d 282, 284, 202 P.2d 855, 856, wherein it was said: 'It has been held in this state that admissions, or declarations against interest, of a decedent are not admissible against his heirs or representatives in an action for his wrongful death under section 377 of the Code of Civil Procedure, for the reason that the right of action given by such section is a new right of action distinct from any which the deceased might have maintained had he survived his injuries. [Citing cases.]'