I-5 Traffic Dispute Leads To Shooting

A man was shot in an apparent traffic dispute at an Interstate 5 off-ramp, backing up evening rush hour traffic for miles.

The episode apparently began when one car passed another going south on the freeway shortly before 4:30 p.m. Friday, then took the exit to 164th Street Southwest in this suburb between Everett and Seattle.

Both cars stopped near the end of the off-ramp. The driver of the car in front got out and went to the second car, then the second driver got out.

The victim, a 49-year-old Bothell man, told authorities he thought the other driver was drinking, so he went back to talk.

The wounded man was treated at Stevens Memorial Hospital in Edmonds and released Friday night. The other driver, identified by Jorgensen as a Snohomish man in his mid-50s, was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of first-degree assault.

The ramp was closed more than two hours, backing up southbound traffic on the freeway for more than five miles.

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