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Police have made some progress in their investigation into the stabbing of an Auckland taxi driver, after they managed to talk to him at his hospital bed yesterday.
Alexander Ershov, 23, was stabbed several times by a man he picked up in downtown Auckland and drove to Mt Wellington on Friday night.
He was not ready to be interviewed at the weekend, and Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Cramer said it would be a long process because of his condition.
"He was able to give us his account of events, which has been very helpful and will help us to focus our inquiry in the right direction," the detective said.
Mr Ershov is lucky to be alive, as his injuries were initially life threatening, but his condition has now stabilised. He had further emergency surgery on Sunday.
He had only been in the job for a couple of months. Bleeding heavily from multiple stab wounds to his abdomen and upper body, he drove himself to a service station where an ambulance was called.
Mr Ershov's employer Abdul Qazi, manager of Dial-a-Cab and VIP Cabs, said the attack was "shocking news for the whole company".
"It's not only upsetting for our company workers, it's shocking for drivers throughout the industry."
The driver did not have time to operate the emergency alarm as the attack happened so suddenly, he said.
Mr Qazi said he would be looking at tougher security measures in his cabs to increase safety for drivers.
The attacker fled on foot in Mt Wellington immediately after the attack.
He was a brown-skinned male, about 180cm in height, with a solid to athletic build. Police said he wore a grey or sandy-coloured hoodie.
- NZPA
