Police investigating the baffling case of a motorist found shot beside his car on a busy Melbourne highway have questioned a man about the incident.
Passers-by found the man critically ill with gunshot wounds to the chest beside the car stopped at the intersection of the Princes and South Gippsland highways at about 4.25am (AEDT) on Thursday.
Detective Sergeant Andrew Stamper from the Armed Crime Taskforce said the injured man may have died had it not been for the two people who stopped to help.
Police said a 33-year-old man from Rowville, in Melbourne's south-east, was assisting them with their inquiries.
The shot man was found in an industrial area in the suburb of Hallam, a short drive from Rowville.
Police later identified him as a 32-year-old Keysborough man.
He remains in a critical condition at The Alfred Hospital.
At a media conference near the Hallam crime scene, Det Sgt Stamper said police were trying to determine how the man came to be shot.
"It is a bit of a mystery at the moment as to where it happened and when it happened, so we will be working very hard to come up with some answers," he said.
Det Sgt Stamper thanked those who helped the injured man.
"They have obviously stopped, rendered appropriate assistance, called the ambulance and may well have saved this guy's life. So we are extremely grateful to these people," he said.
Win Condon, who assisted the shot man, told ABC Radio the gunshot victim did not look well when he was found.
"He wasn't really talking. He wasn't looking too healthy and he was trying to hand us his phone and we said no, we will call with our own," Mr Condon said.
A spokesman for The Alfred Hospital said on Thursday afternoon that the shot man remained in a critical but stable condition.
The Princes Highway inbound was closed following the discovery of the man, disrupting traffic, but was re-opened later in the day, police said.
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