Random stabbing at Sacramento-area gas station leads to Highway 50 standoff

WEST SACRAMENTO – Traffic is flowing again through West Sacramento on Highway 50 after an early morning standoff on the freeway involving a stabbing suspect.

The incident started overnight, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office says, when deputies responded to a report about a man allegedly assaulting his girlfriend. The woman was taken to the hospital, deputies say.

Then, a little after midnight, deputies got a report about a stabbing at the 76 gas station at the corner of Fair Oaks Boulevard and Watt Avenue. Deputies say the suspect allegedly rammed someone's vehicle in the parking lot -- then stabbed the other driver several times.

Deputies say the stabbing appears to be a random attack.

A little later in the morning, the crash happened on Highway 50 near Jefferson Boulevard. A man, believed to be suspect in the earlier assault and stabbing, reportedly ran away from the wreckage and ended up standing on a ledge. He was also allegedly wielding a knife, authorities say.

California Highway Patrol officers and negotiators were able to talk him down eventually, but not before both sides of Highway 50 were completely stopped for a time – backing up hundreds of drivers.

The man is now in custody. He's been 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 says.