Officials: Man kills self after collision

By Alex Bridges -- abridges@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- Virginia State Police say a man killed in a fatal shooting after a hit-and-run crash in Frederick County on Thursday shot himself.

The Officer of the Medical Examiner in Manassas ruled the death of a 53-year-old man a suicide after conducting an autopsy Friday, according to state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.

The man died of a single gunshot wound, Geller said in a news release.

The agency does not release the identities of suicide victims, according to Geller.
Authorities responded to a minor hit-and-run vehicle crash reported just before 6:20 p.m. at Everette Place and Greenwood Road, according to Geller and Frederick County emergency dispatchers.

A red Mazda had been struck in the Abrins Point subdivision and another vehicle fled the scene, Geller said. No one reported injuries in the crash, according to Geller.

Further investigation of the crash led Trooper J.W. Bennett to a home in the 100 block of Everette Place where he found the Ford Escape reported to have left the scene of the crash, Geller stated.

Shortly after arriving at the residence at 7:20 p.m. the trooper heard a single gunshot from inside the home, according to Geller. Police found the deceased man inside the home, Geller said.

No one else was at home at the time of the shooting, according to Geller.