A police hunt is underway for a group of young males who fled the scene after a man was killed in a collision with a suspected stolen car.
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Two 15-year-old girls who were in that car are under police guard in hospital following the crash at Burwood in Melbourne's east about 7pm on Tuesday.
A man who was the sole occupant of the other car died at the scene and has yet to be formally identified.
Police say multiple males from the stolen vehicle ran away after the collision at the intersection of Warrigal Road and Highbury Road.
The area has been cordoned off and a police search is underway for the males.
Housing Minister Harriet Shing said the collision was "absolutely devastating" and asked anyone who may have information to come forward.
"We want to make sure that we are able to understand what happened," she told reporters.
"We have the lowest youth offending rate in Australia, however, we also know that it is a very small group who are persistent offenders."
Child and youth crime has continued to rise in the state over the past year, according to figures released by the Crime Statistics Agency in June.
The number of offenders in the 15 to 17 age cohort in the 12-month period has risen by almost 25 per cent to 15,495.
However, a core group of repeat offenders committed more serious and violent crimes, including robberies, aggravated burglaries, and car thefts, predominantly in the east and outer-southeast suburbs, the data revealed.
Australian Associated Press