Police arrest man for taxi stabbing

A man has been arrested for the near fatal stabbing of a south Auckland taxi driver last week.

Glen Innes police today arrested a 31-year-old casual labourer from Papakura.

The man is to appear in Auckland District Court tomorrow charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and aggravated robbery.

Alexander Ershov, 23, was stabbed six times during the attack in Mt Wellington, south Auckland, about 11.40pm on Friday.

He was taken off a ventilator on Monday and has been making good progress since.

Mr Ershov was extremely lucky to survive the attack, Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Cramer said today.

He showed a lot of courage when he drove to a nearby service station where he was looked after by a member of the public until an ambulance came.

He was bleeding heavily in his cab and close to death.

- NZPA