Man 'shot himself' before crash

A MAN who accidentally shot himself in the groin while driving was dead before his car smashed into a power pole, Melbourne police have said. According to a newspaper report, the man was wanted by police in relation to a stabbing. The 38-year-old was driving a car on the Mornington-Tyabb Road, opposite the Tyabb Airfield on the Mornington Peninsula yesterday, when it is thought he accidentally shot himself in the groin. Senior Constable Bradi Owens from Victoria Police today said it was thought the man died from the gunshot before he ran off the road into a power pole. "That is what the pathologist has determined," she said. Sen Const Owens said she had no information the man was being sought in relation to a stabbing in Hastings on Friday. His body was found in the wreckage by a passer-by about 8am (AEST) yesterday but ambulance officers believe the man had been dead for several hours before he was discovered. "Investigations reveal the firearm has accidentally discharged hitting the man in the groin area before the collision occurred," a police spokeswoman said. Initially, police said the man had crashed into a tree after he lost control of his car, and his death was counted in Victoria's official road toll count. But police later took the death off the road toll figure, bringing Victoria's road toll this year to 179, compared to 210 at the same time last year.