HOUSTON -- A driver wanted on a felony warrant led police on a chase on some of Houston's busiest freeways and roads during Monday morning's rush hour, KPRC Local 2 reported.

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Slideshow: Man Leads Chase Throughout Houston
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Houston police said the chase started when an officer tried to stop the driver because he was allegedly not wearing his seat belt on the Northwest Freeway at Fairbanks North Houston at about 7:40 a.m.

"We pulled alongside his vehicle, motioned for him to pull over; he refused," Officer Walter Park Lii said. "He decided to take a U-turn and evade me."

The chase quickly went into downtown Houston. Police stopped southbound traffic on state Highway 288 before the fleeing driver exited onto the South Loop westbound to the Southwest Freeway toward downtown.

The driver, whose name was not released, frequently drove on the shoulder to avoid traffic and hit a few vehicles.

"It was pretty nerve-wracking because when you see them coming down the freeway like that, I thought they were just going to go past me," said Lonnie Hooper, who was hit near the Northwest Freeway and Hempstead Highway. "My first reaction was I was going to maybe go onto the service road to get out of the way, but the officer, as he was squealing and turning, the officer went past him. I couldn't really go forward. I just had to sit there and eat it."

The driver occasionally went onto surface streets, but quickly opted to go back to freeways.

Police also stopped southbound traffic on the Southwest Freeway when the driver chose that route. Once he hit traffic, the driver crossed all of the lanes of the freeway, hit a curb when exiting Newcastle Drive and headed westbound down Richmond Avenue.

The driver led police through several more surface streets and at one point ended up on Westheimer Road headed toward the Galleria before winding his way back to the West Loop and onto the Southwest Freeway southbound.

The chase, which reached speeds of up to 80 mph, ended when the driver spun out near the exit for Beechnut Street.

Police pulled the driver out of the vehicle and took him into custody.

Investigators said the driver, who is from Pennsylvania, would be charged with evading arrest.

The driver was treated at the scene for cuts and scrapes he suffered in the crash.