Two men have died in separate incidents in Victoria overnight, with homicide detectives investigating a death in police custody at Clayton railway station and police appealing for information following a fatal hit-and-run in Ballarat.
A 37-year-old man died shortly after being taken into police custody at Clayton railway station in Melbourne’s south-east on Sunday night.
Police and Protective Service Officers were called to the station about 7.10 pm following reports of a highly agitated man.
When officers arrived, police said the man was armed with a knife and was pacing around the station concourse before moving onto the railway tracks near the platform.
The area was cordoned off, and train services were stopped as officers attempted to negotiate with him.
Victoria Police said the man later moved towards officers while carrying the knife.
Police attempted to use non-lethal tactical options before members of the Critical Incident Response Team arrived and continued negotiations.
The man was eventually taken into custody but became unresponsive shortly afterwards.
Ambulance paramedics provided immediate medical treatment, but the man could not be revived and died at the scene.
The circumstances surrounding the man’s death are now being investigated by Homicide Squad detectives under the oversight of Victoria Police’s Professional Standards Command, as is required for deaths occurring in police custody.
Train services on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines were disrupted following the incident, with replacement buses operating between Oakleigh and Westall while investigations continued.
In a separate incident, detectives are investigating the death of a man who was struck by a car in the Ballarat suburb of Canadian shortly after midnight.
Police said a green Ford Fiesta hit the man on Butt Street.
Emergency assistance was provided and CPR was performed, but the man died at the scene.
The vehicle allegedly involved in the incident did not have number plates and was later found abandoned on nearby Elsworth Street.
Police are treating the incident as a hit-and-run and are appealing for anyone who witnessed the crash or saw the vehicle before or after the collision to come forward.
Residents and businesses in the Canadian area have also been asked to check CCTV footage, while motorists are being urged to review dash-cam recordings from around the time of the incident.
Investigators are working to establish who was driving the Ford Fiesta and the circumstances leading up to the fatal collision.
Anyone with information, CCTV or dash-cam footage has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
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