WEST SACRAMENTO – Traffic is flowing again on Highway 50 in West Sacramento after a standoff involving a stabbing attack on the highway early this morning.

The incident began overnight, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, when officers responded to a report that a man had allegedly assaulted his girlfriend. The woman was taken to the hospital, officials said.

Just after midnight, officers received a report of a stabbing at Gas Station 76 on the corner of Fair Oaks Boulevard and Watt Avenue. Officers say the suspect allegedly rammed another person’s car in the parking lot and then stabbed the other driver multiple times.

According to MPs, the stabbing appears to have been a random attack.

The crash occurred later that morning on Highway 50 near Jefferson Boulevard. A man believed to have committed the earlier attack and stabbing reportedly ran from the wreckage and stopped on a ledge. He also allegedly had a knife in his possession, authorities say.

California Highway Patrol officers and negotiators eventually managed to talk some sense into him, but only after both sides of Highway 50 were completely closed for a period of time, causing a backlog of hundreds of motorists.

The man is now in custody. He was identified by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office as 34-year-old Robert Zimbelman.

Both victims are expected to survive their injuries, the sheriff’s office said.