There was a huge accident on eastbound I-80 today, near Pinole -- a five-car pileup. It originally started when a Civic spun out in the fast lane and was hit by a Camry. As the tow trucks came on the scene and were trying to get things under control when a Dodge truck rammed into one of the tow trucks and went airborne, falling back onto the highway where it was struck by a van. The Dodge driver is dead, traffic was backed up for 10 miles, and then in the chaos, the Civic drove off, which now makes its driver liable for fleeing the scene of an accident.

In other car-related news, hybrid sales are dropping now that 1) gas prices are back down and 2) you can't always get an HOV lane sticker anymore. However, none of the manufacturers have dropped their prices yet. As a result -- there's more Priuses available than before.

And finally -- Rachel Gordon's always-entertaining look at various aspects of city life goes to the new spiffed-up DPT customer service office, where they've gotten the money to install a "NOW SERVING" system. This has made the average wait drop from 46 minutes to seven, and 94% of parking scofflaws are now served within 20 minutes. Plus -- entertaining anecdotes, and one person reports overhearing some excellent yvesdroppings in line.

Check out that fabulous art car SFist Jim saw in Union Square the other day! If you can't take public transportation, that's clearly the way to go.

finally