Money strewn across Southern California freeway put drivers into a frenzy: NPR

The California Highway Patrol is looking for motorists who pulled over to collect cash on the freeway after piles of bills spilled from an armored car on Friday morning.
Chris Carlson / AP
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Chris Carlson / AP
The California Highway Patrol is looking for motorists who pulled over to collect cash on the freeway after piles of bills spilled from an armored car on Friday morning.
Chris Carlson / AP
Traffic stopped on California’s Interstate 5 Friday morning after an armored car dumped money on the freeway just north of San Diego. Several drivers and passengers jumped out of their vehicles to grab what they could. But the police want everything back.
The armored car was heading north along I-5 into Carlsbad around 9:15 a.m. when one of the doors unexpectedly opened and bags of money flew out. Cars parked on the shoulder and in the middle of the road, as motorists and passengers scrambled to collect bills – mostly $ 1 and $ 20 – littered on the ground, The San Diego Union Tribune reported.
But the California Highway Patrol is warning those who took the opportunity to hand over the money.
“I strongly suggest to anyone who has collected money here – it is not your money, so immediately hand it over to the CHP office in Vista,” CHP Sgt. Curtis Martin told reporters.
Several bags opened, spilling money – mostly $ 1 and $ 20 bills – in all the lanes and causing the freeway to come to a halt. https://t.co/pm3kpyLbbl
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Two people were arrested at the scene for allegedly picking up what they could, and others returned what they had picked up, the Tribune reported.
Videos posted on social media show many people picking up handfuls of cash along the highway. Martin told reporters that these videos captured faces and license plates during the event and that the CHP was working with the FBI to identify those who may not have returned the money.
The armored car was carrying the money from San Diego to a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. office, possibly in Los Angeles or Orange County. The highway reopened around 11 a.m., the Associated Press reported.