The door of an armored truck sprang open on Tuesday night at Interstate 285 on Atlanta’s north side, spilling money across the highway.
While the truck was making it rain, drivers pulled over to join in a literal cash grab.
The armored truck company estimated the unintended gift at $175,000, according to the Dunwoody Police Department.
Those driving past got out their phones and shot video of cars and trucks pulling over, with people jumping out to try to scoop up bills blowing in the wind.
Police replied to 911 calls around 8 p.m. that more than 15 cars had stopped on the busy highway to collect cash that had fallen off an armored vehicle.
Dunwoody Police Sgt. Robert Parsons informed the radio station that it was definitely a crime to take the cash off the highway. They are researching to see how much is missing.
Parsons says they’re going to need that cash back.
“The armored car crew said the side door came open while they were driving and money spilled out onto 285,” Dunwoody Police said in a statement. “Officers and the truck crew gathered a few hundred dollars that was still there when officers arrived, but plenty was taken.”
The exuberant videos posted by individuals as the money danced in the air are now doubling as evidence. Police are checking the video on social media to discover sticky-fingered drivers.
“We have plenty of social media video, some of which seems to have tag numbers, to follow up on, but we really want people to come in, turn in the money and go on about their life without worrying about when the police are coming to find them,” said Sgt. Robert Parsons, a spokesman for the Dunwoody Police Department.
He noted one man turned in $2,100, and another had handed over $500 he had picked up off the highway.
“If the money is turned in, we will not criminally charge those who do the right thing,” Parsons said.
For those who picked up cash and kept it for themselves, charges could include theft of lost or mislaid property and could be a felony or misdemeanor, depending on the amount.
