Vice Mayor sues Hope gas station, Coca-Cola

David "DJ" Johnson

Originally published in the Texarkana Gazette and on writeforarkansas.org on Oct. 6, 2011.
 
HOPE, Ark.—Vice Mayor David “DJ” Johnson is suing a local gas station and Coca-Cola for injuries stemming from a 2008 accident.

According to the lawsuit, filed recently in Hempstead County Circuit Court, Johnson and his grandson were customers of a gas station in Hope owned by Deaton Oil Co., LLC, on the night of Aug. 8, 2008.

Johnson, a former Arkansas Razorback fullback and a city board member since 1986, was “walking down the aisle by the ice cream machine when he tripped over two crates of Coca-Cola products that had been negligently left in the aisle,” according to the suit.


As a result of negligence on the part of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Texarkana and Deaton Oil Co., whose employees placed and failed to remove the soft drink crates from the aisle, Johnson suffered injuries to his body and lower legs, the suit claims.

He is seeking compensation for medical costs, pain and suffering and lost past and future wages.

A Deaton Oil Co. representative declined to comment on the lawsuit. Questions for the Texarkana bottling company were referred to Coca-Cola’s corporate media relations, which did not return a call for comment Wednesday.

Johnson did not return calls for comment Tuesday or Wednesday. His attorney, Jim Jackson of Little Rock, said he doesn’t expect the case to go to trial.

“We’re trying to get that resolved without litigation, and the lawsuit was filed just to extend the statute of limitations,” Jackson said.