22-year-old Albert Washington was arrested Thursday at his residence on the 5800 block of Malvern Avenue and charged with Carjacking, Fleeing Police and related offenses.
The incident occurred just past 2:00 a.m. at the Hess gas station in the 600 block of South Broad Street.
Police say Washington appeared out of nowhere, throwing the taxi driver to the ground and then jumped in the cab and drove away.
Washington then allegedly fled down North Broad Street toward Philadelphia City Hall, all awhile being tracked by GPS.
The cab was spotted by police a short time later in the 5600 block of Diamond Street in the city's Wynnefield section.
Police say the suspect was driving erratically and tried to ram the taxi into a police cruiser.
He then crashed into several parked cars along the street, jumped out of the cab and fled.
Officer gave chase on foot but lost the suspect around 58th and Malvern.
K-9 dogs were brought in, and investigators were checking surveillance cameras and talking to witnesses as the search for the suspect continued.
Investigators were later able to identify the suspect as Albert Washington.
The taxi driver was not seriously injured.
