Drivers gather spilled bills from California freeway after armored car drops bag of cash

Motorists snagged handfuls of cash after the rear door of an armored car popped open on a Southern California freeway on Friday, showering the pavement with bills.

"This is the most insane thing I've ever seen!" one woman gushed in a smartphone video that shows her and her fellow motorists, many of whom had parked in the middle of the freeway, scooping up armfuls of ones and twenties. One man approached the camera and appeared to scream, "Yo, we going to Sizzler tonight, baby!" A visit to a buffet chain seems like a fairly modest ambition considering the windfall available to him, but it's also possible he said "Caesar's" (as in Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas) rather than "Sizzler." Either way, I hope he has fun.

The armored car was northbound on Interstate 5, travelling from San Diego to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation office in Los Angeles when the bag of cash fell out at around 9:15 a.m., authorities told The Associated Press. The road was closed for two hours after the incident, and two people were arrested at the scene. According to the California Highway Patrol, around a dozen people have already returned the money they'd picked up. "People are bringing in a lot … People got a lot of money," CHP Sgt. Curtis Martin said.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Officers have also warned that the FBI is involved and that anyone who fails to return the money could face charges. So, maybe Sizzler (or Caesar's) isn't such a good idea.