A heroic driver who saw two children allegedly stabbed by their mother on a busy highway has been praised by the ‘extremely grateful’ police for disarming the woman.
The 35-year-old woman was allegedly armed with a knife late Monday evening and stabbed her two sons, aged three and eight, on the North South Motorway near Wingfield, north of Adelaide.
Before police arrived, a man who witnessed the alleged incident stopped and intervened before two other bystanders rushed in to pin the woman down.
Police said the woman pulled over her car and took her two sons with her before launching the alleged attack.
SA Police Inspector Selena Dinning said she was “extremely grateful” that the man had stopped.
Police were called to the North South Motorway near Wingfield, north of Adelaide, just before 11:30 p.m. Monday after a member of the public managed to disarm and detain the woman.
“If this man hadn’t stopped, the situation would have been much worse,” she said.
“We are grateful he stopped and immensely grateful to the two other members of the public who helped him.
“We think he has done this very bravely and we are very happy that he was in the right place at the right time.”
The eight-year-old boy was operated on, the three-year-old girl suffered ‘a number of stab wounds’ and will also be operated on.
Following the alleged attack, the two children were treated for critical injuries, but are both now stable.
The woman was arrested and is being held at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
She is expected to be charged with two attempted murders.
Chief Inspector Dinning could not confirm whether the family had been spoken to by police prior to the alleged attack.
The police have been in contact with the father of the boys and officers will consult with the Child Protection Department about the care of the two children.
It is not clear who the children lived with at the time.
Superintendent Dinning said the scene was “horrifying” for first responders and support had been offered.
“We don’t know what caused the episode, we don’t know at this point where she (the mother) went or what she was doing,” she said.
A neighbor said they saw police outside the Modbury Heights home on Sunday.
“We don’t know the residents at all, but the police have been there over the years,” she said the advertiser.
SA Police are investigating and are asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact Crime Stoppers at 1800 333 000.
A woman, 35, is expected to be charged with two attempted murders in Monday night’s incident
