CCTV footage has captured the moment a driver’s attempt to flee the scene of an alleged stabbing was thwarted when he crashed into a tree and was surrounded by police.

Emergency services were called to Billing Street in Elizabeth Park in northern Adelaide about 1pm today and found a 36-year-old man from Elizabeth Grove with stab wounds.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics before being rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The alleged suspect was captured on security cameras fleeing the scene in a Ford SUV, which soared up the curb before crashing into a tree.

“We could hear it driving around the streets, we heard it crash,” witness Joshua Keil told 9News.

The driver allegedly stumbled out of the car and was surrounded by police.

“He was not being pursued, it is our understanding he may have been fleeing the area,” Superintendent Julie Thomas said.

Billing Street was closed to all traffic as investigations continued.

Police located and seized a knife and believe an assault occurred inside a home before the driver tried to flee.

“People yelling and screaming and fighting around the corner here, you could hear it from out the front,” Keil said.

Police said the “violent altercation” was “not random” and both men knew each other. There is no ongoing threat to the public.

“It would have been most confronting, dealing with that kind of disturbance, and the injury to the victim was quite severe,” Thomas said.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, has dashcam or CCTV footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.