A Kingston man faces dozens of charges after a series of events that began with a carjacking in downtown Toronto and ended in four other failed attempts during morning rush hour on the busy Highway 401.

At 7 a.m., a man attacked a 41-year-old woman with scissors while she was trying to park her SUV in a lot near Elizabeth Street and Gerrard Street West in downtown Toronto.

The man demanded her keys. When she refused, he took out a pair of scissors and stabbed her, then drove off in her vehicle. The woman was treated in hospital for minor injuries.

Police said the carjacker was involved in several accidents before he was seen driving eastbound on Highway 401.

Witnesses reported seeing the stolen vehicle veering in and out of traffic on Highway 401 before it flipped and rolled over around 7:30 a.m. near Kennedy Road.

The driver climbed out of the SUV, then attacked a stopped motorist and assaulted him in an attempted carjacking, police said.

Witnesses tried to hold the man while waiting for police to arrive, but he broke free and ran across the highway to a nearby strip mall.

Once there, police said he tried to grab three other vehicles in the parking lot before police officers arrived on scene.

He fought with police, but they finally took him into custody.

The 40-year-old man faces 44 charges, including impaired driving, assault with a weapon, theft over $5,000 and failure to stop at the scene of an accident causing bodily harm.

He also faces five counts of robbery, five counts of threatening death, four counts of dangerous operation of a vehicle, and one count of common nuisance.

All but one eastbound collector lanes on Highway 401 were shut down for several hours after the accident.

The man is scheduled to appear in court Thursday morning.