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Pinellas Park police: Dragway crash victim found with gunshot wound to head, gun found in car

Posted at 11:52 PM, Nov 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-13 16:11:50-05

UPDATE | A 58-year-old man who wrecked his car on a Pinellas Park dragstrip appears to have suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.

Shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday Pinellas Park police officers responded to an incident at the Showtime Speedway, 4398 126th Ave. N. in Pinellas Park, a Pinellas Park Police Department official said in a statement. 

The call was in reference to a possible traffic fatality in a wooded area just off the dragway on the Speedway property.

Officers arrived shortly after an event at the speedway. They spoke to several witnesses who saw the victim driving his 2015 Chevy Malibu traveling at a high rate of headed northbound on the dragstrip. The car abruptly veered to the left, left the road and came to a stop in mangroves next to the track. 

During the investigation officers discovered a large amount of blood in the vehicle, the release stated. The victim had a single gunshot wound to the head. A .380 caliber handgun was found at the driver's feet inside the vehicle.

Investigators working with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Forensics Section and Pinellas County Medical Examiner's Office have determined the victim died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound as he was operating his vehicle, causing the crash, the releases states.

ORIGINAL STORY | A fatal accident at a Pinellas Park dragstrip kills one man.  It happened around 10 p.m. Saturday night at Showtime Dragstrip at 4398 126th Ave North. 

According to Police, an adult male driver was driving down the dragstrip following an event.  The vehicle left the roadway and crashed into a wooded area surrounding the property.

The driver died at the scene.

Police continue to investigate the cause of the crash.