UPDATE: A road rage incident in Bacchus Marsh left one man with a gunshot wound to his leg and another with lacerations to his face on Sunday.
The two victims were on their way to visit family in Ballan with two children in the car aged three and six.
It is alleged that they were tailgated on the Western Freeway by the driver of a silver 2002 Holden Commodore who overtook their vehicle and started braking and swerving in front of them in an attempt to run them off the road.
The incident comes following a spate of road rage incidents in Melbourne’s west in recent weeks.
Detective Sergeant Warren Chapman of the Armed Crimes Unit said police were investigating the circumstances of this latest incident which occurred in Bacchus Marsh near Condons Lane about 4pm.
“The victims followed the driver of the Holden down a deadend street. The two men and the other driver have stepped out of their car where an altercation has occurred and male driver of the Holden has presented a pistol. He’s then allegedly pistol-whipped one of the victims and shot the other victim in the leg,” Detective Sergeant Chapman said.
The male driver is aged late 30s to mid 40s, approximately 183cm tall with olive skin and “salt and pepper” coloured hair.
The two victims were driven by a family member to a Ballan hospital just after 5pm and were later transferred to the Royal Melbourne Hospital for further treatment. One of them is still in hospital in a stable condition and the other has been discharged.
“We want to speak to anyone who might have witnessed the driver of the late-model Holden driving citybound on the Western Freeway, driving erratically and tailgating,” Detective Sergeant Chapman said.
Senior Constable Allan Edwards of Melton highway patrol said road rage was a common problem “all over the place”.
“I would put it down to a lack of proper driver training,” he said.
Senior Constable Edwards said drivers needed to be more patient and tolerant of other drivers.
“Nobody is a perfect driver – you just need to be a little bit tolerant when other people make mistakes.”
Witnesses of the incident or anyone with information is being urged to contact Crime Stoppers on1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au
