If I haven’t heard it all now, there can’t be much left, right?
According to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, former LSU offensive lineman Matt Branch was shot by a dog while duck hunting in Mississippi in late December, with the resulting injuries associated with the shooting forcing his leg to be amputated. The accident occurred during an annual hunting trip that included Branch, whose family owns the property on which the accident occurred, and a handful of friends and family members.
From the Clarion-Ledger:The game plan called for Heckford, Branch, Branch’s cousin, David Joe Branch, Branch’s younger brother, Connor Branch, and friend, David Lamonte, to spread out and hunt along a slough. Later in the morning, they planned to regroup and hunt together.
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“At approximately 9:40 a.m., David Joe, David, Matt and I were all standing around the bed of the (Polaris) Ranger and Matt had laid his gun down flat in the bed of the Ranger and walked around on the passenger side to finish loading up,” Heckford said. “I was at the tailgate no more than 4 feet away from him.”
Seeing that the hunters were loading the vehicle, another hunting companion, a Labrador retriever named Tito, jumped in the bed of the Ranger. As he walked around finding a place to sit, he stepped on the safety of Branch’s shotgun and pulled the trigger.
The group was able to get Branch, who was hit in the thigh by the gunshot, to a clearing accessible to medical personnel and was later transported to a pair of medical facilities, the latter of which performed the amputation on his left leg. Branch has since undergone multiple surgeries, but is expected to make a full recovery.
Branch played in 28 games for LSU from 2009-11 after redshirting as a true freshman in 2008, but didn’t get to finish out his career with the Tigers as injuries forced him to retire prior to the start of his senior season.