WEST WINDSOR: Hunting accident kills Chesterfield man

By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Packet Media Group
   WEST WINDSOR — A 45-year-old Chesterfield man died Saturday afternoon while hunting geese, according to police.
   Police said the man and his father were hunting geese in the fields of 1201 Old Trenton Road around 4:16 p.m. when the man reportedly shot himself in the head and neck area.
   Police responded quickly to the scene and were directed to the injured hunter’s location in a nearby patch of woods by the man’s father.
   Medics also were summoned and employed lifesaving measures, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
   Police have not yet released the identities of either man pending the notification of relatives, according to a press release.
   Detectives from West Windsor and the Mercer County Homicide Task Force arrived at the scene and conducted an investigation, police said.
   Police said that while the investigation is ongoing, it appears the man accidentally shot himself with his own weapon and died from a single gunshot from his own firearm.
   Canada geese decoys were spread out in front of the blind the father and son were using, and both men were properly licensed to hunt geese, police said.
   An autopsy on the man is scheduled for early next week, police said.
   ”Although incredibly tragic, it is believed that the incident was solely an accident, and condolences go out to the family and friends of the victim,” police said in the release.