Free money! Or so people thought, when an armored Brink’s truck dropped cash all over a New Jersey Highway. Several people ended up crashing their cars in the midst of the money grabbing excitement.
However, the East Rutherford Police are asking for help in recovering the money.
$295,000 still remained missing as of Dec. 14, according to the East Rutherford Police Department.
UPDATE-2 bags of $ fell out of armored truck ($140,000 & $370,000) employees w/ assistance of motorists recovered & secured $205,375 from roadway. 5 individuals returned a total of $11,090.00 w/ $293,535.00 still outstanding.
— East Rutherford Police (@ERutherfordPD) December 14, 2018
Police are asking any drivers involved to contact them to return any bills taken and added that there would be “no charges filed” against anyone who returned the money.
The incident occurred on Route 3 when the back door of an armored Brink’s truck opened, spewing cash onto several lanes of the highway. Police said one of the truck’s doors may have malfunctioned and become unsecured.
While Brink’s personnel ran around collecting the money, drivers excitedly stopped their cars and ran onto the highway, grabbing money.
The unbelievable scene seemed straight out of a Hollywood movie, instead of part of an everyday commute.
Amid the mad cash-dash, drivers leaving their vehicles to pick up money caused two accidents, police said.
People traveling on Route 3 posted several videos and photos on Twitter and Facebook.
Early Christmas for NJ commuters! It was raining ???? on Route 3!! @njdotcom @ABC7NY @News12NJ #commute pic.twitter.com/oNC7bs3fZz
— Sabrina Quagliozzi (@squagliozzi) December 13, 2018
Drivers and Brink’s personnel recovered roughly $205,000 on the spot.
Five people later contacted the police and turned in a little more than $11,000. The remaining $293,535 is still missing.
If the money is not returned, police are reminding people that it’s theft. Anyone who collected any money in connection with the spill is urged to call the East Rutherford Police Department to make arrangements for its return with “no charges filed.”
“It would be like theft of mislaid goods,” police Captain Phil Taormina said. “The truck was parked on the shoulder and two armed guards, Brink’s employees, were trying to gather the money.”
While in transit, the money belongs to Brink’s, and all those social media posts will help investigators track down the missing money.
Earlier this year in May, another Brink’s truck dropped more than half a million dollars on the I-70 in Indianapolis. The truck’s back doors swung open when it slowed to a stop, causing $600,000 in bags, bundles, and loose bills to tumble out.
Like the recent incident, people were also scrambling to pick up cash. But once again, police reminded the public that it’s theft.
Similar incidents happened when an armored vehicle’s doors malfunctioned in June 2016 in Providence, Rhode Island; in July 2015 in Baltimore; in April 2015 in both Weatherford, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah; in January 2015 in Queens, New York; in October 2014 in Urbana, Maryland; and March 2012 in Montgomery County, Maryland.
According to its website, Brink’s “provides U.S. and global security services including secure logistics, cash management, payment, and retail back office solutions.”
A vice president for the company said Thursday, Dec. 13, he could “confirm that there was an incident with one of our trucks this morning which we are investigating.”