Off-Duty El Cerrito Police Officer Killed, 2 Injured In Horrific San Pablo I-80 Crash
SAN PABLO (CBS SF/BCN) -- An off-duty El Cerrito police officer was killed and two others were injured Sunday morning following a crash involving four vehicles on eastbound I-80 in San Pablo.
The El Cerrito Police Department identified the officer killed in the crash as 26-year-old Jerrick Bernstine.
"On his way home from work, Officer Jerrick Bernstine was involved in a traffic collision on Interstate 80 near San Pablo Dam Road," the department said in a news release. "A van in front of Officer Bernstine lost control and collided with the center median. Officer Bernstine's car struck the van and he died at the scene."
The California Highway Patrol said the collision was reported at about 6:15 a.m. A Sig Alert was issued at 6:45 a.m. and traffic was diverted for several hours onto San Pablo Dam Road.
The condition of the two others injured in the crash has not been released.
Bernstine began his career with the El Cerrito police as an academy recruit in 2019 and became a police officer in February 2020.
"Officer Bernstine was passionate about giving back to his community and became a police officer after first working as an in-home caregiver," the department said in the release. "In his two years with the ECPD he was recognized as a model officer, combining a humble personality with a tenacious crime fighting spirit."
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the CHP.