Why was a cited as "at-fault" for the accident?

Either Car B rear ends Car A= 1 accident

Then Car C rear ends Car B into Car A again= 2 accidents

And Car D comes, rear ends Car C into Car B again, and into Car A, which would make it 3 separate accidents

OR, Car D rear ends Car C, who then rear ends Car B, who then rear ends Car A, which would be (only) 1 accident total.

I could do a breakdown of each car % owed to each car, front and back, but will take 4 more paragraphs to explain.

It will come down to how many (hits/impacts) each person felt from front to back;

Sounds like Car D did rear end Car C, which then rear ended you into Car A, since when you got out of the car, did not know that there was a 4th car vs only 3.

Lawyers love rear end accident and injuries; They will take anyone, so report all that call you to your insurance company and they will handle. And no, getting a ticket is not clear fault, since many times the officer will give, only based on other statements, or could be for not providing proof of insurance, license etc, which has nothing to do with fault.

If your vehicle was 2nd in line, the only vehicle you could be held liable to is the 1st car, who has NO fault in this accident.

So, depending on how each insurance company, total of 4, decides fault and how many hits/impacts in this accident, will you find out if your insurance pays for Car A, or if Car C and D pay for your damages.

First You were cited for a traffic offense but that does not make you "liable" for the accident. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other. I have seen many, many instances where the person who received a citation was *NOT* held liable for the accident. Why were you cited? You will have to ask the police why you got the ticket. How would we know?

As for the rest of it, again, just because you received a citation does not necessarily mean that you will be held liable for the damages that were made. ONLY the involved insurance companies decide who was liable or the percent liability assessed to each driver. Sit back, relax and the insurance companies will soon let you know about liability.

Talk to you insurance company, even if you are somehow at fault, they will cover you legally via your liability insurance.

Refer any other insurance companies and lawyers to YOUR insurance carrier. Dont say anything to them at this stage.

If you believe you were ticketed wrongly, and it sounds like this is the case if you managed to pull up short, then were shunted by the car behind, then you may have to fight the ticket in court. In that case, talk to a lawyer, and document EVERYTHING.

You were following too close. If you had been at a proper distance you would not have collided with car A.

You need to be talking to your insurance company.