A former Miss Universe Australia finalist has relived the terrifying moment she and her elderly father became caught up in Melbourne‘s escalating crime crisis.

Elizabeth Kalash leapt into action after her father Amir, 60, was confronted and then attacked during an attempted carjacking outside their Coburg home on Monday.

CCTV showed the 2024 finalist rushing to protect her father as he tried to stop a would-be thief from stealing her Hyundai parked at the front in broad daylight. 

A stolen silver Lexus, with the registration ‘SAMWAN’, pulled up and ran over her father’s foot as a man and woman got out.

‘Hey, what the f*** are you doing c***,’ the beauty studio owner was heard screaming as she clung to the bonnet of the Lexus. 

Mr Kalash was then assaulted, causing him to fall backwards on the kerb before the trio fled the scene in the Lexus empty-handed.

‘It was heartbreaking,’ she told 9News, adding she had no choice but to act. 

‘I saw my father obviously get pushed, shoved, assaulted, thrown to the ground, and obviously tried to defend him, which anyone would do.’

The trio returned to the scene shortly afterwards to retrieve items they left behind.

‘That was a little bit confronting as well because I didn’t know if they were coming back with something, or to do something,’ Ms Kalash said.

She has no regrets about confronting the would-be thieves, having recently taken up self defence lessons as her city starts to feel more unsafe. 

‘You don’t know what to do, you’re just reacting to a fight or flight situation – and it was clearly fight,’ Ms Kalash said.

‘What has Melbourne come to? What was once the most safest state has now become a place where we’re too scared to even sleep in our own homes.’

Her father suffered a fractured foot and spent the night in hospital.

He remains shaken by the ordeal after he fled war-torn Iraq for a better life in Australia 30 years ago.

The trio remain on the run two days later.

Victoria Police described the incident as a brazen and opportunistic attack.

‘It’s pretty unnerving, it’s pretty confronting and it has significant impacts on victims,’ Detective Senior Constable Patrick Perera said.

Police have released images of two men and a woman between the ages of 35 and 40 they believe can assist with their inquiries. 

The first man is described as Middle Eastern, 180cm tall, and unshaven.

He was wearing a black hat, dark sunglasses, a black ‘Nina Pasadena’ hoodie, blue work pants with prominent reflective strips and brown work boots.

The second man is described as Aboriginal, 175cm tall, and unshaven.

He was wearing a black hat with a white motif, brown AC/DC t-shirt, dark coloured pants and dark shoes.

The woman is described as Aboriginal, 155cm tall, and wearing a black beanie, white T shirt, and dark maroon hoodie.

Anyone with information or footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.