A man was hospitalized around midnight Monday after he was attacked by an unidentified white man brandishing a machete outside a Little Rock restaurant, according to a police report.
Matthew McKelvey, 25, told police he was sitting in a friend's van near Pizza D'Action, 2919 W. Markham St., when he saw a man driving a 2004 white Chevrolet Tahoe run over his friend. The driver, described as being heavyset with blond hair and a goatee, then got out of his vehicle and started beating McKelvey's friend with what McKelvey thought was a baton-like object, he told police.
McKelvey said he got out of the van to confront the man, who attacked him with the weapon, which McKelvey realized was a machete when it sliced his skin. He suffered a deep gash on his back, exposing vital organs, and severe cuts to his right arm, according to the report.
The suspect drove off, and McKelvey's friend "Sleepy," later identified as Bilal Jefferson, 35, who works at Pizza D'Action, drove McKelvey to UAMS Medical Center.
Jefferson originally told police that McKelvey came into the restaurant needing help, but later Jefferson changed his story, saying he drove up on the attack in progress and watched the suspect drive away.
Police found blood on the concrete outside the restaurant, between Booker Street and Woodrow Street as well as on the passenger seat and on the fender of the car Jefferson drove.
Officers attempted to follow up with McKelvey but were told he was in surgery at the time.
Police do not have information on the identity or status of the friend who McKelvey said was run over.