"They saved my life." An Auckland teenager has had an emotional reunion with three strangers who intervened when her ex-partner stabbed her multiple times, in broad daylight.
"If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be sitting here right now," Crystal Tupou says.
In 2018, the then-18-year-old was stabbed more than 16 times while on Anzac St by her former partner, Micah Shannon Santos.
He had lured her there with a fake Facebook profile, pretending to be a friend wanting to catch up.
"The offender said that he was stabbing the victim and he only stopped when he looked up and saw the bystanders running towards him," says detective Tim Johnston, the officer in charge of the case.
"I believe if they did not do that, the victim would have got more serious injuries.
"They put their own safety at risk… Their actions were nothing short of heroic."
The trio of men leaped into action. Steve Smith immediately administered first aid , trying to stop the bleeding.
When reunited by police , in a video released today, he openly cried as he hugged Ms Tupou.
A man is helping police with their inquiries after the Anzac Ave incident.
"I kept telling you that you were going to be OK, that I'm with you, you're going to be OK," he says.
"[It's] very emotional. To see something like that just breaks your heart."
Daniel Coombe was one of the other good Samaritans, along with Walker Hunter.
He says it's proof that you're not powerless in those events.
"If people just act in those situations, sometimes those events can go quite differently."
Ms Tupou spent more than 12 days in hospital after the stabbing, suffering critical injuries to her lungs and kidneys.
Santos pleaded guilty to attempted murder last year and was sentenced to six years in prison.
The pair had only dated for a few months before the attack .
Ms Tupou says by sharing her story, she wants to help other women in controlling or abusive relationships and prevent anything similar happening to anyone else.
"There were signs but I chose to see the good side of him. People would say bad things about him but I chose to ignore it.
"I had a choice to make whether to run away from it or not but I chose to stay, and if anyone is going through that, please no matter how much it hurts, do what's best for yourself, because no one is going to give you another life."
Police urge anyone who suspects someone close to them is a victim of family violence to act.
If someone is in immediate danger or feels their safety is at risk, call 111 immediately.
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