Acroplex
11-28-2002, 03:54 PM
Cash from heaven -- well, from armored truck -- litters St. Paul freeway
Kevin Duchschere and Herón Márquez Estrada
Star Tribune
Published Nov. 28, 2002 CASH28
State trooper Mike Eck pulled up behind the car parked along Interstate Hwy. 94 in St. Paul and spotted a man plucking $50 and $20 bills off the shoulder.
"I don't believe that money is yours," Eck told the man.
"No," the man replied. "I just found it floating on the freeway."
He handed the cash over to Eck, who counted about $450 and then made a call to his supervisor to ask: What do I do with this?
And then, What do I do with the rest of this?
Thousands of dollars, spilling from a bag of $50,000 in cash that had fallen from an armored truck, was drifting across a mile-and-a-half stretch of westbound I-94 from Western to Lexington avenues during Wednesday morning's rush hour.
The cloud of greenbacks prompted as many as 30 motorists to pull over and chase after bills.
The bag hit the freeway at about 7 a.m., falling from a truck belonging to American Security Corp. that was headed for the Hmong American Credit Union on University Avenue. American Security officials declined to explain what happened or to make any other comment Wednesday.
No serious highway backups resulted, in part because of the light preholiday traffic. Nevertheless, at 7:30 a.m. Metro Traffic Control began reporting to its radio subscribers that a spilled cash bag was slowing freeway traffic.
Several radio stations reported the news, and that's when things really got bad, said State Patrol Lt. Kent Matthews.
"As soon as someone put it out [that it was money], people started pulling over and stopping. That's not real responsible."
Shortly after Eck arrived, he called Matthews to say that there was a lot of money on the road and that more drivers were stopping to pick it up. Other officers arrived, accepting fistfuls of dollars from the motorists.
Matthews drove slowly along the shoulder, taking cash from outstretched hands and throwing it into his back seat. "Most were very cooperative," he said later. "When you asked for it, they handed it to you."
Then Matthews discovered the source -- the 8-by-12-inch cash bag.
It was lying on the median shoulder, split wide open but with most of the money still inside. Several cars had run over it, releasing bills into the air with each thump, he said. Like feathers from a pillow.
"Frankly," Matthews said, "it looked like a dead cat."
A Highway Helper at the scene, Jason Henry of St. Paul, crawled into drains from Western to Lexington looking for loose bills. He found $1,120, Matthews said.
Three motorists who stopped were ticketed. One, cited for driving without insurance, had his car towed. Another man, apparently reluctant to surrender the money he had collected, was written up for making a non-emergency stop. Still another was cited for walking on the freeway.
No one was injured, but there was a minor accident nearby that Matthews said might have been related to the frenzy.
By late Wednesday afternoon, $5,000 was still missing, and Matthews was warning motorists to turn in the money before officials go in search of them. Those with the cash should call State Patrol dispatchers at 651-582-1509.
Otherwise, he said, they could be charged with theft; video cameras on highway overpasses probably recorded those who stopped to dive for dollars.
"It might not be a bad idea for people to come forward before we go look at that," Matthews said.
Kevin Duchschere and Herón Márquez Estrada
Star Tribune
Published Nov. 28, 2002 CASH28
State trooper Mike Eck pulled up behind the car parked along Interstate Hwy. 94 in St. Paul and spotted a man plucking $50 and $20 bills off the shoulder.
"I don't believe that money is yours," Eck told the man.
"No," the man replied. "I just found it floating on the freeway."
He handed the cash over to Eck, who counted about $450 and then made a call to his supervisor to ask: What do I do with this?
And then, What do I do with the rest of this?
Thousands of dollars, spilling from a bag of $50,000 in cash that had fallen from an armored truck, was drifting across a mile-and-a-half stretch of westbound I-94 from Western to Lexington avenues during Wednesday morning's rush hour.
The cloud of greenbacks prompted as many as 30 motorists to pull over and chase after bills.
The bag hit the freeway at about 7 a.m., falling from a truck belonging to American Security Corp. that was headed for the Hmong American Credit Union on University Avenue. American Security officials declined to explain what happened or to make any other comment Wednesday.
No serious highway backups resulted, in part because of the light preholiday traffic. Nevertheless, at 7:30 a.m. Metro Traffic Control began reporting to its radio subscribers that a spilled cash bag was slowing freeway traffic.
Several radio stations reported the news, and that's when things really got bad, said State Patrol Lt. Kent Matthews.
"As soon as someone put it out [that it was money], people started pulling over and stopping. That's not real responsible."
Shortly after Eck arrived, he called Matthews to say that there was a lot of money on the road and that more drivers were stopping to pick it up. Other officers arrived, accepting fistfuls of dollars from the motorists.
Matthews drove slowly along the shoulder, taking cash from outstretched hands and throwing it into his back seat. "Most were very cooperative," he said later. "When you asked for it, they handed it to you."
Then Matthews discovered the source -- the 8-by-12-inch cash bag.
It was lying on the median shoulder, split wide open but with most of the money still inside. Several cars had run over it, releasing bills into the air with each thump, he said. Like feathers from a pillow.
"Frankly," Matthews said, "it looked like a dead cat."
A Highway Helper at the scene, Jason Henry of St. Paul, crawled into drains from Western to Lexington looking for loose bills. He found $1,120, Matthews said.
Three motorists who stopped were ticketed. One, cited for driving without insurance, had his car towed. Another man, apparently reluctant to surrender the money he had collected, was written up for making a non-emergency stop. Still another was cited for walking on the freeway.
No one was injured, but there was a minor accident nearby that Matthews said might have been related to the frenzy.
By late Wednesday afternoon, $5,000 was still missing, and Matthews was warning motorists to turn in the money before officials go in search of them. Those with the cash should call State Patrol dispatchers at 651-582-1509.
Otherwise, he said, they could be charged with theft; video cameras on highway overpasses probably recorded those who stopped to dive for dollars.
"It might not be a bad idea for people to come forward before we go look at that," Matthews said.