CARLSBAD, Calif. (KGTV) — Two people were arrested Friday after an armored truck spilled bags of money onto Interstate 5 in Carlsbad, prompting a mad dash by some motorists to collect the loose cash.
At about 9 a.m., an armored truck heading to the Federal Reserve from a local bank dropped two bags of money after a door popped open at about 9 a.m. on northbound I-5 near Cannon Rd.
The cash scattered across the northbound and southbound lanes, causing a massive backup on the northbound side as drivers stopped and parked on the shoulder.
CHP said several social media videos show people on the freeway picking up the cash, and that they are working with the FBI to investigate. CHP said the driver of the armored truck tried to recover some of the money from lanes, but then started videotaping people.
"There is a lot of video evidence of people picking up the cash, so we are going to be following up on every lead that we have," said CHP Sergeant Curtis Martin.
No details were released on how much money was believed to have fallen from the vehicle.
Two people were arrested after they accidentally locked their car and were not able to get back in, leaving lanes of traffic blocked, Sgt. Martin said. He added that the two people were arrested for taking cash, but the investigation is continuing.
"We did arrest two suspects on the scene. Those two suspects accidentally locked their car so it was blocking lanes of traffic, so they were still here when officers got here. So they're in custody," said Martin.
Several people who stopped to pick up the money returned the money immediately to CHP, according to the agency.
CHP and FBI released a bulletin with photos of individuals they said are being sought for questioning over the incident:
CHP said people could be prosecuted for taking the cash and not returning it. Anyone who took money from the scene is asked to return it to the CHP's office in Vista within 48 hours or call 858-637-3800 to return it and to avoid potential criminal charges.
