Beloved owner of restaurant Smokin Thighs remains unconscious, loved ones seek help
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — As of Monday night, the owner of a popular Wedgewood-Houston restaurant remains unconscious. Loved ones have asked for help in finding the suspect that hit him and took off.
Matt Carney suffered serious head trauma when he was hit by a pickup truck in the parking lot of his restaurant, Smokin Thighs, Wednesday night.
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Loved ones have prayed for progress as the beloved owner has shown little brain activity.
“We need to know what happened and who caused this, and we are determined we are going to figure it out,” stated Robert Young, the CEO of Covert Results.
It was around 5:40 Wednesday night when Carney stepped out of the side door of the restaurant with plans of heading home. What unfolded over the next 10 minutes in the back parking lot of the business is unknown, but it ended with Carney left unconscious in the middle of Wedgewood Avenue.
“We believe there could have been some sort of altercation and this may not be your typical hit and run that happened on the streets of Nashville,” Young said.
Carney’s vehicle was parked in the rear of the restaurant. It was found running with the door open. As a friend, retired police officer and owner of a private investigation company, Young is on the case.
“One of the investigators working with me is retired police and spoke with a witness who was actually sitting on the patio and according to the witness he had just happened to look to his left and see what he described as a person hanging on to the side of or on the hood of a truck,” Young explained.
Witnesses reported seeing a 1980’s to early 2000’s model black pickup truck come from the rear of the restaurant at a high rate of speed and take a right onto Wedgewood Avenue. There, the Metro Nashville Police Department said that Carney was thrown off the truck and onto the pavement.
The driver of the truck is then believed to have turned right onto Bransford Avenue and left. Young has asked neighbors to check surveillance footage and has called on witnesses for help.
“We are talking 5:45-5:50 on a Wednesday, it’s light outside and [there’s] probably tons of traffic. One of the potential witnesses that was running in the area said there were two females who identified themselves as nurses who stopped,” Young said. “We would like to talk to them, we’d like to see: did they see anything? ‘Cause as oncoming traffic is coming towards Smokin Thighs, they might have seen or had a little bit better of a description on the actual getaway truck. That’s what we are looking for,” said Young.
Carney opened Smokin Thighs as a food truck in 2012 before opening a location in the Wedgewood-Houston area in 2014.
“(He) loves this community, loves grilling food and is just such a great guy,” Young said. “As a community, as a whole and for Matt’s friends and family, we just ask that everybody pray. Pray for Matt, pray for the family, pray for the business and everyone involved.”
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The Entrepeneur Organization, of which Carney is a long-time member, is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case. Crime Stoppers is also offering a reward in addition to the $10,000 privately funded amount. Tips can be submitted at 615-74-CRIME and callers can remain anonymous.
A GoFundMe page has been created to help his wife during this difficult time, for more information click here.
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