I-90 back open after carjacking ends with crash in tunnel, police say

SEATTLE -- The mainline lanes of eastbound Interstate 90 were closed for several hours Tuesday morning while police investigated a carjacking and collision that ended on Mercer Island.

Around 4:10 a.m., a family was loading their vehicle in the 500 block of Lakeside Avenue South when a suspect approached them, indicated he had a gun, and stole the family's car.

An officer noticed the car a short time later and initiated a pursuit.  The suspect vehicle eventually got onto the eastbound lanes of  I-90 going at a high rate of speed.

A short time later, the suspect was involved in a collision inside the tunnel on Mercer Island and was taken into custody.

The Washington State Patrol is assisting Seattle Police with the investigation.

WSDOT had opened the express lanes to eastbound traffic during the investigation while the mainline was blocked.

Officials reopened the eastbound mainline aroud 7 a.m., but big backups remained.