Police: Robbery suspect steals cab, leads cops on wild chase down I-5

LYNNWOOD, Wash. -- Authorities say a robbery suspect in a stolen yellow taxi led police on a chase down I-5 Wednesday, crashing through the gates blocking the express lanes from oncoming traffic.

Deputies with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office were called at 1:45 p.m. to the report of a carjacking and shots fired in the parking lot of a Dollar Tree in the 13600 block of Mukilteo Speedway.

Deputies spotted the car a short time later near I-5 and began a pursuit. Investigators said at one point the suspect was driving the wrong way on I-5, so deputies ended the pursuit.

A short time later, deputies said they tried to stop the suspect again on southbound I-5 near the entrance to the express lanes. Video shows the suspect crashing through the gates of the express lanes just before hitting oncoming traffic.

All southbound lanes of I-5 were blocked for several minutes while police took a suspect, a 38-year-old Renton man, into custody shortly after 2:00 p.m.

No injuries were reported.

The crash was already having a big impact on both directions of I-5. WSDOT called the afternoon commute a "big mess."

Despite the fact that the crash happened in the southbound lanes near the express lanes, northbound traffic was seeing big delays.

Check our live traffic map here.