Melbourne street attack turns dream new life to fear

Elena Morgan now feels forced to find a new home after becoming a victim of a wave of Melbourne street attacks.

Elena Morgan, 25, who was attacked by three women of African appearance at a city bus stop two weeks ago, in Melbourne yesterday. Picture: Aaron Francis

Less than two years after moving to Melbourne to pursue a dream job, Elena Morgan now feels forced to find a new home, having become one of the latest victims of a wave of street attacks that have engulfed the Victorian capital.

The 25-year-old department store employee says she was waiting for a bus on one of Melbourne’s busiest streets on January 9 when she was set upon by three women who repeatedly punched her and tried to push her into the path of oncoming traffic.

The attack, in Hoddle Street, East Melbourne, at 7.25am, ended only after a passing bus driver stopped his vehicle and intervened. “I was fearing for my life,” she said. “They were just angry, they wanted to pick a fight and they could see that I was an easy target.”

Ms Morgan spoke to The Australian on the same day Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said police were locking up “as many we can” to stop street gang attacks that have rocked the city over December and January.

Victoria Police yesterday ­released CCTV images of a separate group of women wanted for questioning after an attack inside a lift at Southbank on New Year’s Day.

CCTV footage of a different group of women who police want to help with their inquiries into another assault.

Two of Ms Morgan’s three alleged assailants, who were all of African appearance, were arrested by police within hours of the attack. Victoria Police confirmed that the pair had been at an out-of-control party the previous night that police had dispersed. Each is charged with attempted robbery and assault.

Ms Morgan said she was chatting on the phone to her father in Sydney and clutching a Gucci handbag when the three teenage women made a beeline for her and demanded she get off her phone.

When she refused, they repeatedly punched her in the head and tried to shove her onto the road.

Transdev bus driver James Urquhart stopped his vehicle when he noticed Ms Morgan clinging onto the bus stop as the teens surrounded her.

As he jumped out and went to check on her, the teens fled. He ushered her into the bus and contacted Transdev’s control centre which phoned the police and ambulance.

He then told passengers the service would be delayed as he waited for police to arrive, and encouraged them to transfer to another bus behind them.

The ordeal left Ms Morgan with head injuries and spinal bruising. Her father listened to the entire attack on the phone.

Ms Morgan praised Mr Urquhart for his quick thinking and springing to her aid. She also praised police for apprehending two of the women but said more action was needed against street gangs responsible for a string of ­violent and destructive acts across Melbourne this summer.

On January 1, a 24-year-old woman from Southbank was taken to hospital with cuts and a lump on the head after a group of women entered the lift and allegedly attacked her as she went to get out on her floor.

Investigators believe the same group of women, also of African appearance, may have been involved in an assault at the same location the following morning.

Mr Ashton yesterday called for a more co-ordinated, “cross-government” response to the city’s youth and gang crime problem, saying police could not solve the issue alone.

“We’re locking them up as many as we can … we’re responding more quickly than we’ve ever responded, we’re making more arrests than we’ve ever made in total, so we’re doing plenty about it, but you’re talking about bigger social issues than police (can) solve,” Mr Ashton told radio station 3AW yesterday.

The police chief expressed support for tougher sentencing, saying police members were “very ­frustrated” by the number of repeat offenders.

The two teenagers charged with assaulting and attempting to rob Ms Morgan are aged 17 and 18. The older woman is due to face court on April 6.

In the meantime, Ms Morgan is spending $220 a week on physio treatments for her back and an extra 40 minutes a day commuting to work by tram instead of bus. She said she hadn’t been back to the Hoddle Street bus stop since the attack.

Ms Morgan plans to move to a new neighbourhood when her current lease expires in two months, saying she no longer feels safe in her home, which is a short walk from the bus stop.