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BURBANK, Los Angeles County, Calif., Sept. 29, 2026 — A chain reaction crash involving several vehicles shut down northbound Interstate 5 at Hollywood Way in Burbank late Sunday night, September 27, according to the California Highway Patrol. All lanes were stopped as the crash grew from an initial collision into a pileup involving multiple vehicles.
The California Highway Patrol said the incident began as a two vehicle collision blocking a carpool lane and expanded within minutes as additional cars became involved, eventually reaching four vehicles by some counts and as many as six by others in early radio traffic. A pickup truck was reported to have struck two sedans, and a gray sedan was also described as colliding with several other vehicles in the middle lanes. Some parties reportedly got out of their vehicles and were seen walking in the travel lanes before officers arrived.
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene, and it remained unclear in early reports whether anyone was hurt. One vehicle sustained major front end damage and rear wheel damage, and multiple tow trucks were called to clear vehicles from the roadway, including requests for two to three separate rotation tow companies to handle the load. Access for emergency crews was routed through the Hollywood Way onramp to northbound I-5.
The California Highway Patrol issued a SigAlert for the three right lanes, estimated at the time to last about 45 minutes, though the closure affected traffic well into the overnight hours as crews worked to clear wreckage and reopen the freeway.
The cause of the initial collision has not been released, and the investigation is ongoing. We hope those who were hurt recover fully.
What Actually Reduces Highway Pileups
Multi-vehicle pileups on freeways often start small: a single fender bender or a stopped car in a live lane. What turns that into a chain reaction is speed. At highway velocities, drivers behind the initial contact have only a second or two to react, and a small tap at 65 mph carries far more force than the same contact at 25 mph, so following vehicles pile into the wreck before they can stop.
Road design plays a real role in limiting how bad these events get. Wider shoulders give disabled or damaged vehicles a place to move out of traffic. Better lighting and clearer lane markings help drivers spot trouble sooner, and variable speed signs that slow traffic ahead of a backup have been shown to reduce secondary collisions on busy corridors. Rapid incident detection and quick lane clearance, through cameras and faster tow response, also cut down the window in which more cars can pile in.
Driver behavior still matters. Following at a safe distance and slowing early when brake lights appear ahead gives a driver more room to stop before adding to a pileup instead of becoming part of it. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 17,008 motor-vehicle crash deaths occurred outside passenger vehicles in crashes involving passenger vehicles in 2023, a reminder that people outside their cars, including those who stop on a freeway after a crash, face real risk from the traffic still moving around them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes multi-vehicle crashes hard to investigate?
Reconstructing a pileup means sorting out the order vehicles struck each other, which is difficult when a crash unfolds in seconds and involves several drivers with different accounts. Investigators often rely on physical damage patterns, dashcam footage and traffic camera video to piece together sequence and cause.
Why do chain-reaction crashes happen?
They typically start with one incident, a collision, a stopped car, or debris, that reduces available reaction time for drivers approaching at highway speed. Each following vehicle has less time to stop than the one before it, so the crash can grow quickly before traffic fully stops.
How can drivers avoid getting caught in a pileup?
Keeping a longer following distance, watching brake lights several cars ahead rather than just the car directly in front, and slowing down as soon as traffic bunches up can help a driver stop safely instead of becoming part of a growing collision.
What to Do After a Multi-Vehicle Crash in Burbank, CA
If you're involved in a multi-vehicle crash on a freeway, try to move your vehicle out of traffic lanes if it's safe and drivable, and turn on hazard lights to alert other drivers. Staying inside a vehicle on the shoulder is generally safer than standing in or near active lanes, since freeway traffic often continues moving fast even after a crash ahead.
Anyone involved, even those who feel fine at the scene, should still be checked by a medical professional, since injuries such as whiplash or internal strain from sudden stops aren't always immediately obvious. Getting a copy of the official collision report from the California Highway Patrol afterward can help with insurance and medical follow-up in Burbank and beyond.
