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Back-to-back major incidents snarled vehicular traffic on Interstate 580 and stopped BART train service for hours between the Tri-Valley and Castro Valley on Saturday, authorities said.
The situation began at around 9:45 a.m. on westbound I-580 east of Eden Canyon Road with a crash that resulted in a Ford F-350 truck crashing through the freeway fence and coming to rest near the BART tracks, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The collision was categorized on the CHP incidents website as a hit-and-run with minor injuries.
The resulting emergency response, CHP investigation and scene cleanup led to major vehicular and transit delays into early Saturday afternoon as multiple freeway lanes were closed and BART trains halted between the West Dublin-Pleasanton and Castro Valley stations.
Authorities reported that most I-580 lanes were reopened and BART resumed service briefly before both sides of the freeway were shut down and trains stopped again amid suspicious circumstances on the eastbound side of the freeway in the same area.
At 1:45 p.m., CHP received a report about a suspicious device having been found inside a Chevrolet Tahoe parked in the center divider on I-580 east of Eden Canyon Road, prompting a response from an Alameda County Sheriff’s Office explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) unit and leading to all traffic being diverted off the freeway for safety reasons.
“The vehicle was thoroughly searched and x-rayed by EOD personnel before being deemed safe. All lanes of traffic were reopened at 4:22 p.m. and BART resumed its services,” CHP-Dublin officials said on Twitter.
BART officials also commented on the long set of delays on Saturday, tweeting: “It was a strange day for the Dublin line being impacted by drivers. First a driver crashed into our space. Then another driver parked their vehicle on the freeway and called in a threat. CHP shut down the freeway and BART for a suspicious object that ended up not being a threat.”
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