The model under consideration is a hard-core lattice gas in an external potential on a Bethe lattice with nonequilibrium time evolution governed by Glauber dynamics. A hierarchical decoupling of nonequilibrium correlations, motivated by and asymptotically providing the exact form of equilibrium multisite correlations in the inhomogeneous potential regime, is proposed. Application is made to the process of lattice gas crystallization, at high activity, from a spatially homogeneous fluid phase to an equilibrium crystal phase with unequal sublattice densities. The first few levels of the hierarchical decoupling give a consistent picture of two kinds of nonequilibrium instabilities-one leading to a sublattice density bifurcation, the other associated with an abrupt increase in densities and correlations in time.