SLIDELL - Police are investigating a carjacking in a fast food restaurant's drive-thru line that they believe is connected to a recent string of similar crimes across New Orleans.

The Slidell Police Department said the most recent incident happened Tuesday night around 10:30 outside a fast food restaurant on Pontchartrain Drive near Old Spanish Trail.

Officers said the victim stopped his SUV in the drive-thru lane and had just rolled his window down to place an order when a car suddenly pulled in front of him.

Three men reportedly got out of the car and forced the victim to get out of his SUV at gunpoint. The three suspects then took off in his vehicle and their car, which police later learned was also stolen.

Shortly after the carjacking, police say they found the stolen SUV on Michaud Boulevard in New Orleans East. When the three men saw officers approaching, they reportedly fled in the SUV, crashed into a fence and evaded arrest on foot.

With the help of the New Orleans Police Department and the FBI, Slidell police have determined the suspects in Tuesday night's carjacking are responsible for a rash of carjackings across the New Orleans area and potentially Jefferson Parish.

Investigators say a person of interest has been involved in several of the recent carjackings across the area, but the investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with information on the identity of the person of interest or the carjackings is urged to contact Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at (504) 822-1111.