Berkeley, CA, November 4 – A multi-vehicle crash on eastbound Interstate 80 near the University Avenue on-ramp left an unknown number of people with minor injuries during Tuesday afternoon traffic, the California Highway Patrol reported. The collision happened at approximately 3:40 p.m. on November 3, 2026. Emergency crews responded to the scene to assist those involved while clearing the roadway and restoring normal traffic flow.
Berkeley Five-Vehicle Crash on Interstate 80 Leaves Minor Injuries
Five vehicles were involved in the collision, including a white Honda Civic and a red Toyota Corolla, the California Highway Patrol reported. Firefighters responded to the scene and provided medical aid to those who were injured in the crash. The agency did not say how many of the five vehicles’ occupants were among the injured parties.
The California Highway Patrol closed the Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 lanes near the crash scene while its investigation was underway, and crews worked to clear the vehicles involved from the roadway. The closures slowed commute traffic through the area for a time before the roadway was gradually reopened to normal traffic flow.
The California Highway Patrol has not released the cause of the crash or said what led the vehicles to collide. The agency also has not specified when the closed lanes fully reopened, or whether any citations resulted from the collision. No additional details about the circumstances of the crash had been made public.
What the at-fault driver is required to carry, and why it often is not enough
Vehicle Code section 16056 sets California’s minimum liability limits, and they changed recently. For a policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, the minimum is $30,000 for injury to or death of one person, $60,000 where two or more people are hurt, and $15,000 for property damage. Policies written before that date may still carry the older minimum of $15,000, $30,000 and $5,000.
Those are floors, not typical limits, and a single hospital admission can exhaust the lower figure before any other loss is counted. Where the at-fault driver carries the minimum, the uninsured and underinsured motorist cover on the injured person’s own policy is often the part that matters most, and it is worth checking early rather than after the other insurer has made an offer.
The deadline that applies to a claim like this one
Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 gives two years for an action for injury to, or for the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another. The same two years covers an injury claim and a death claim; there is no separate, shorter period because someone died.
Talking to someone about it
Culver Legal represents people injured in collisions across California. A conversation about what happened costs nothing, and we work on a contingency fee, which means there is no fee unless we win. If we do not win, we do not pass the case costs on to you either.
Nothing on this page is legal advice about any particular case, and the facts of a reported collision often change as the investigation continues.
