OXNARD : Motorist Shoots Self During Chase

A 22-year-old Los Angeles man died Saturday afternoon after he shot himself in the head while driving along Pacific Coast Highway near Point Mugu, sending the car careening across the highway and over a 100-foot embankment onto the beach, Highway Patrol officials said.

The man, whose identity has not been released, was stopped early Saturday for a minor traffic violation while driving north on PCH near Deer Creek. A CHP officer checked the motorist’s registration and told the man that he owed a year’s worth of registration fees.

After he was told that his car would be impounded, the man fled northbound with the officer in pursuit, officials said. After driving about a mile north he shot himself with a 9-millimeter pistol. The car then crossed the highway, skidded off the road and landed on the beach near Sycamore Cove. Officials said the man was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected onto the beach. The man was airlifted to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, where he died.