An off-duty Athens-Clarke County firefighter died after a tree limb fell on him in Jackson County, according to a report.

The Athens-Clarke County Fire and Emergency Services said in a Facebook post that “a tragic accident” Monday led to the death of Matt Hughes.

The agency did not say what kind of accident killed Hughes. But WGAU-AM in Athens reported Hughes was helping a friend trim trees when the limb hit him.

Hughes was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, where he later died, according to the radio station.

No other details about the accident were released.

“We would like to send our prayers and condolences to Matt's family and friends,” the fire department said in the post.

In other news:

About the Author

Keep Reading

A Norfolk-Southern train travels south close to the Mitchell Street bridge in the Gulch Tuesday afternoon in Atlanta, Ga., May 28, 2013. The Norfolk-Southern route runs north-south through downtown beneath the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC), through the Gulch, and then onward to parallel MARTA's Red/Gold lines south of downtown. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz, jgetz@ajc.com

Featured

About 4,300 graduating Emory students wait for the commencement ceremony to begin on May 8, 2023. The school is expecting to see a multimillion-dollar increase on its endowment tax liability after recent legislation. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: TNS