Police arrest man in Tuesday's wrong-way chase, carjacking on I-5

Mountlake Terrace police have arrested a 28-year-old man who they say drove a car the wrong way on Interstate 5 on Tuesday, then forced a stranger to drive him to Seattle, where he ran off.

Samir Judeh turned himself in at an Everett Police Department precinct on Wednesday night, said Assistant Chief Pete Caw. Judeh is being held at the Snohomish County Jail on investigation of eluding police and investigation of unlawful imprisonment.

Patrol officers were searching a motel parking lot in the 6000 block of 244th Street Southwest on Tuesday morning when they spotted a white Chevrolet Monte Carlo that had been involved in several earlier police pursuits. Officers went to the motel room where the driver was staying, but there was no response when they knocked on the door.

When officers returned to their cars, police say Judeh and a woman quickly left the room, got into the Monte Carlo and sped off. Two detectives had to leap out of the way to avoid being hit by the sedan, police said

Judeh drove into the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 and headed south, police said. The vehicle tried to exit at Northeast 145th Street but got stuck in the median, police said.

The female passenger ran off, and Judeh tried to flag down other motorists, according to police.

When a woman in a black BMW stopped, police said, Judeh climbed into the passenger seat and ordered her to drive to a neighborhood near the University of Washington Medical Center, where he got out of the car. The BMW driver was not hurt.

Police have identified the woman who fled from the Monte Carlo, but are not searching for her.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com