Police arrested a driver Thursday night who was cruising along Interstate 5 — in reverse.
The 41-year-old man drove at least three miles backward on Interstate 5 before his arrest around 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Cowlitz County Sheriff’s deputy Ryan Cruser said.
Police said they saw the man laughing as they approached the vehicle, which came to a stop in the middle of three northbound lanes at milepost 55 — not far from a rest area by the Cowlitz County-Lewis County border, according to Cruser.
The nearest on-ramp was at milepost 52, Cruser said, though police didn’t know where the man entered I-5. It’s unclear how fast the man was traveling because the vehicle was stopped when police found it, Cruser said.
The man refused to roll down his windows when police approached his rented 2009 Dodge Avenger, Cruser said. Police broke the window to arrest him.
Deputies used a Taser to subdue the driver when he began to struggle during the arrest, said Sgt. Blair Schmidt with the Washington State Patrol.
Alcohol and drugs are not believed to be a factor in the incident, Cruser said. Police plan to have the driver, a resident of Canada whose name wasn’t released, evaluated for possible mental problems.
The man suffered minor cuts on his arm from the broken window, police said.
A deputy also suffered cuts as he struggled to remove the man from his car. The was taken to St. John Medical Center, Cruser said.
Two lanes of I-5 were closed from 8:30 until about 8:45 p.m.
Subject: Police nab man driving I-5 ... in reverse 
Sat Jun 20, 2009 10:15 am
