Armored Truck Accident Sparks Scramble for Cash

MIAMI — A Brinks armored truck crashed into a guardrail, flipped and cracked open on an Interstate 95 overpass Wednesday, showering hundreds of thousands of dollars onto the poor Overtown neighborhood below.

Residents scrambled on their hands and knees to grab a share of the fortune, and a police spokesman said “pandemonium” reigned in the area just north of downtown.

“There was money everywhere,” Lt. Bill Schwartz said. “You couldn’t walk anywhere without stepping on money. The streets were paved with gold.”

Dozens of people scooped up an estimated $400,000 in bills and coins, then scattered as police sirens were heard.

“They were sticking it in bags, boxes, anything. Sticking it in their pockets, pants and shirts. Fighting each other for the money,” Schwartz said.

After the crowd scattered, firefighters, police and Brinks workers used shovels to scoop up the remaining cash from the street. Schwartz said one firefighter had found a bag containing about $300,000.

Some residents told reporters they considered the cash “pennies from heaven”--a late Christmas present to a needy neighborhood.

A Brink’s spokesman said the company would not comment on the incident.

Police said anyone who picked up money could be charged with theft, but conceded that it would be difficult to track the missing cash and those who took it. No one had been charged.