Dozens of Georgia drivers who stumbled onto a financial come-up after a “cash storm” sent $175,0000 floating onto a busy highway are slowly but surely returning what isn’t theirs.
Police in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody said it was just after 8 p.m July 9 when the side door of an armored truck traveling westbound on I-285 flew open, sending a confetti stream of cash onto the westbound lanes, according to WSB-TV. Those who witnessed the incident said they they could not believe their eyes as the bills floated through the air, then onto the roadway.
Videos posted to social media showed several drivers pulled over to the shoulder of the road, scrambling to pocket much cash as they could.
“I saw a bunch of paper floating around in the road and everybody pulling over on the shoulder, and as I got closer I noticed it was all just cash,” said one driver who called in to WSB Radio.
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Others posted pictures of themselves “flashing” their newfound cash.
The fun was short-lived, however, as Dunwoody police urged everyone who took advantage of the “285 cash storm” to please return the money — or be prepared to face the consequences.
“The law is the law,” Dunwoody police spokesman Sgt. Robert Parsons told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “You need to turn in the property. It doesn’t belong to you. Reality needs to kick in, and you need to realize this money belongs to someone.”
Those who grabbed the cash could face charges of theft of lost or mislaid property, a misdemeanor under Georgia law. Amounts exceeding $1,500 are considered a felony, however, and have harsher punishments.
“Those people who do not return the money, we have video, we have tag numbers,” Parsons added. “We have footage of people on the interstate. What we’re asking the public to do is bring the money back, don’t make us come looking for you, because if we do that, you probably will be charged.”
So far, at least two people have turned over their cash to police. On Wednesday, Randrell Lewis walked into the Dunwoody Police Department with $2,100, the AJC reported. Another man, who asked to remain unidentified, turned in a shopping bag with about $500, mostly in dollar bills.
However, there were still dozens of drivers out and about searching for any remnants of the cash that had spilled onto the highway the night before, local station CBS46 reported.
Local police have had to give verbal warnings for people to vacate the area.
Watch more in the video below.
