Motorists Nab Cash Spilled by Armored Truck, Causing Crashes

An armored truck spilled cash Thursday on a New Jersey highway, leading to two crashes as drivers “went a little bit crazy” to grab the swirling money.

The frenzy happened during morning rush hour in East Rutherford. In online videos, a man in uniform is seen running through traffic trying to collect money, while others exited their cars to do the same.

“People went a little bit crazy when they saw the money,” said Danielle Shah, 29, of Bloomfield, New Jersey, who witnessed the incident from a bus she was riding into New York. “I mean, it seemed like the people who got out of the car — they just didn’t care. They parked their cars in the middle of the highway.”

A Brink’s truck idled in the right shoulder with its lights flashing as the bills blew around the highway. One video showed the bashed-in front end of a sedan as traffic crawled through the blizzard of bills.

Police said the chaos led to two crashes, though it’s unclear whether anyone was injured.

Police Capt. Phil Taormina said it appeared that the armored vehicle had an issue with the lock on one of its doors.

In a statement, Brink’s confirmed the truck belonged to the company and said an investigation is underway, but declined further comment.

Police said they don’t know how much money spilled, and that anyone with information or video should contact them.

Police are urging anyone who took money to return it; people may arrange to return any collected cash without facing charges. Some people have already returned some money.