International Room bar sued over alleged drunk driving crash into downtown Texarkana fountain

Miller County Courthouse
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A civil lawsuit filed Monday alleges the International Room is liable for injuries suffered during a crash into Texarkana’s downtown fountain last month.

The co-guardians of Donnie Joe Smith, 62, are named as plaintiffs in the suit which names the International Room, also known as R & R or the Double R, as a defendant in connection with a July 26 wreck on the state line between Texas and Arkansas. Smith and Harvey Lynn Terry, 53, allegedly began drinking at the International Room the night of July 25.

The suit alleges employees of the International Room continued to serve Terry alcohol even after it was obvious he was drunk. The complaint accuses the employees of failing to act appropriately under the circumstances. According to earlier news reports, Terry has a history of drunk driving convictions.

Sometime after midnight on the morning of July 26, Terry crashed his Nissan Frontier pickup into the brick fountain in front of Texarkana’s downtown post office and courthouse, injuring both men. Texarkana, Texas, police worked the wreck, which was deemed alcohol-related.

Smith’s guardians, Carolyn Everett and Patricia Jan Jones, want the bar to compensate them for Smith’s past and future medical expenses, past and future pain and suffering, past and future physical impairment, physical disfigurement and scarring, past and future disability, mental anguish, lost wages and loss of earning capacity.

Guardianships are necessary when a person’s mental or physical state makes it impossible for them to carry out decisions or care for themselves.

The lawsuit, filed on the guardians’ and Smith’s behalves by Texarkana lawyer Matthew Golden, has been assigned to Miller County Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson. The International Room has not yet filed a response to the complaint.

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