A Chicago street broke out in mayhem after $300,000-worth of cash fell out of an armored truck.
Money-hungry locals swarmed the road after a Brinks Home Security Company truck drove through Oak Park, a Chicago suburb, without realizing its back doors flung open – handing over the funds to the eager masses last Tuesday.
It was too late when the driver finally realized they were no longer carrying the money-stuffed bags.
The Brinks worker was reportedly greeted by flocks of people urgently shoving their pockets with the stolen money – some got away on foot, while others drove off. No arrests have been made.
The security and cash management company is baffled about how the doors swung open.
While Brinks is reeling from the incident, there are anywhere from 50 to 100 Chicagoans reaping the benefits of the mishap, NBC Chicago reported.
Chicago is considered one of America’s most dangerous cities, with the chances of becoming a victim of a property crime being one in 31, according to Safe and Sound Security.
From 2023 to 2024, violent crimes in the city surged by 11 percent. Oak Park’s crime rates are about 10 percent lower than Chicago’s overall rates.
A Chicago street broke out in mayhem after $300,000-worth of cash fell out of a Brinks armored truck (stock image)
Money-hungry locals swarmed the road to collect money from the bags of cash that were left behind (stock image)
The chaos that erupted on Tuesday is not unique to the Midwestern city. In fact, Brinks experienced nearly identical situations in previous years.
More than a half-million dollars spilled from a Brink’s truck near MetLife Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Jets and Giants, in New Jersey in 2018.
East Rutherford police said in a statement that two bags of cash fell. One of the plastic bags had $140,000, and the other held $370,000.
The bags fell from an open rear door that had a mechanical issue, according to police.
When the bag flung out of the vehicle, they burst when they hit the ground – causing a flurry of bills in the middle of moving traffic.
But that did not deter people from pulling over – or stopping in the middle of the highway – to grab a wad of cash. This caused two car crashes.
Police said Brinks’ workers and other motorists recovered about $205,000 from the roadway. Five people turned in about $11,000, but about $294,000 was never recovered.
East Rutherford police Detective Lieutenant Mike Gianscaspro said at the time: ‘It’s a theft of mislaid property.’
Police clamored to pick up cash on an interstate in Indianapolis after the back doors of a Brinks armored truck swung open in 2018 (pictured)
In 2018, a similar Brinks mishap occurred in New Jersey, causing vehicles to stop in their tracks so people could bag a few bucks (pictured)
When people stopped their cars to collect the cash in New Jersey in 2018 (pictured), it reportedly caused two car crashes
Gianscaspro said: ‘We’re not looking to charge anybody, we’re just looking to get the money back to Brinks.’
Earlier that year, $600,000 was dropped out of a Brinks truck along an Indiana highway.
Four individuals in a white pickup truck towing a utility trailer made off with a bag full of cash that spilled out of the security vehicle.
Troopers witnessed people jumping over fences from a nearby neighborhood to grab money.
Authorities said even a school bus driver stopped to grab cash before driving away from the scene.
‘Bags of money were falling out of the back onto the interstate,’ said Indiana State Police Corporal Brock McCooe.
‘Sort of something out of a movie scene, where you have bills, loose bills flying all over the interstate, vehicles stopping, people getting out of their cars.’
