Dozens of lucky — and fast — bystanders made off with a staggering $300,000 this week after bags of cash fell out of an armored truck near Chicago.
According to the Oak Park Police Department in Illinois, the chaos unfolded around 5:07 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22, when a Brinks Home Security truck was heading southbound on South Austin Boulevard. At some point, the truck’s backdoor mysteriously swung open, sending three bags stuffed with cash tumbling onto the street.
When a Brinks employee returned to the scene, they found total mayhem. Between 50 and 100 people were spotted scooping up the money before dashing away on foot and in cars, police said.
The estimated loss? About $300,000.
As of Friday, April 25, no arrests had been made, a Village of Oak Park spokesperson confirmed to NBC Chicago. Reps for the Oak Park Police Department and Brinks did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
It’s not the first time an armored truck has accidentally turned a regular day into a cash grab frenzy.
In November 2021, a similar scene played out on California’s Interstate 5 near San Diego. A truck door burst open, releasing bags of cash onto the highway. Drivers stopped in the middle of traffic to stuff their pockets with bills, mostly singles and twenties. At the time, the California Highway Patrol urged anyone who picked up the money to turn it in.
And back in May 2018, Indiana State Police reported that a Brinks truck door swung open on the Sam Jones Expressway, scattering packages of money and sparking a mad dash among passing motorists.
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This seems to happen periodically I kind of think these things are at least sometimes, intentional.
They do realize if they try to spend it, that they will be arrested for theft.