Austin Turner: Tennessee man dies following assault by a security guard at a popular Nashville bar
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: A man who was assaulted in February by a security guard at the popular Nashville, Tennessee bar Tin Roof, has died.
Austin Turner, who turned 26 while in a coma, breathed his last on Thursday, March 7, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center after suffering severe brain injuries during an "altercation," as per the police.
According to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, in the early morning hours of February 18, Richard Cornelius, 36, who was a licensed security guard at Tin Roof on Demonbreun Street, struck the victim, "causing him to fall to the ground unconscious."
Security footage allegedly shows Cornelius swinging numerous times before hitting Turner, as reported by WSMV.
Austin Turner suffered multiple injuries before entering coma
Turner suffered a skull fracture, subdural hematoma, and massive strokes and received an emergency craniotomy, according to a GoFundMe created for his family.
He was in a coma for nearly three weeks.
Security guard Richard Cornelius is released
Cornelius was charged with aggravated assault but has since been released on a $25,000 bond.
According to a statement from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, detectives are now "in conversation with the District Attorney’s Office about subsequent charging decisions."
Victim Austin Turner's family made a difficult decision after doctor's report
The victim's stepmother, Meagan Turner said that doctors told the family that Turner would most likely not survive his injuries, which prompted them to make the difficult decision to take him off life support on Tuesday, as reported by WKRN.
“I know in my heart of hearts that my son was not doing anything that provoked this kind of attack,” claimed Meagan.
She added that they were told his injuries were "devastating and irreversible and irrecoverable."
What did Austin Turner's mother say following his death?
"Despite Austin's valiant struggle for survival, his injuries proved to be fatal," Turner's mother, Brandi Maynard, said in a statement to The Tennessean.
"Because of the reprehensible actions of a security guard, my son spent the final 16 days of his life, including his 26 and final birthday, in an irreversible coma. No mother ever expects to outlive and bury her children and as a mother, the depth and breadth of my grief are beyond measure," she lamented.
Following the incident, Tin Roof CEO Bob Franklin reportedly said "Aligning with the investigation, he [Richard Cornelius] is no longer with our team."
