NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A man has died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center more than two weeks after being hit by a vehicle outside of his popular Wedgewood-Houston restaurant, according to police.
Matt Carney, 42, reportedly suffered serious head trauma when he was hit by a pickup truck in the parking lot of his restaurant, Smokin Thighs, on June 19.
The surveillance video partially shows the truck on the same day of the incident at Smokin Thighs. Carney had stepped out the side door of the restaurant at around 5:40 p.m. that day with plans of heading home.
The Metro Nashville Police Department said a pickup truck came from the back of the restaurant shortly before 6 p.m. at a high rate of speed. Then, Carney was thrown off the vehicle and onto the pavement along Wedgewood Avenue. Investigators believe the truck turned right onto nearby Bransford Avenue.
ORIGINAL STORY: Beloved owner of restaurant Smokin Thighs remains unconscious, loved ones seek help
According to authorities, Carney’s parked vehicle was found running with the door open behind Smokin Thighs. However, detectives have yet to determine what happened in the parking lot between Carney and the pickup truck driver.
On Saturday, June 29, police found the suspect vehicle — a Nissan Frontier pickup truck — in the parking lot of the LaQuinta Inn on Sidco Drive and impounded it. Officials said the truck had been spray painted and had a temporary tag.
Then, on Thursday, July 4, Carney died from complications associated with the injuries he sustained in the crash, according to his loved ones.
A statement was posted on Friday, July 5 on a CaringBridge page set up for Carney, saying, in part, “No words describe the loss that Molly and his family are feeling right now. For us, his friends, we are in shock. Our fervent prayer and belief were that Matt would recover and this would just be a ‘story’ in his past he would have told tales about. To know Matt is to know how full of life he was. His determination, passion, and sense of humor will be missed in ways we have yet to understand.”
PREVIOUS: Metro Police release video of truck suspected of hitting Smokin Thighs owner
Carney opened Smokin Thighs as a food truck in 2012 before opening a location in the Wedgewood-Houston area in 2014.
If you want to help Carney’s family in the aftermath of his death, you are asked to donate to this GoFundMe, contribute to this Meal Train, or visit Smokin Thighs and support the business.
If you have any information about the driver of the vehicle that hit Carney, you are asked to call Nashville Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463. More than $10,000 in reward money is being offered for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the driver.
No additional details have been released about the investigation into this deadly hit-and-run.
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