An Oregon man was feeling generous and so he decided to toss money out his car window as a “gift” to strangers.
His generosity didn’t go unnoticed–not by motorists who screeched to a halt to retrieve the hundred-dollar bills, and not by the Police who stopped him for causing a dangerous distraction on the highway.
Police received multiple phone calls about bills “floating” on busy Interstate 5 toward the south end of Eugene, about 120 miles south of Portland, around 7:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday, according to a news release from the Oregon State Police.
Vehicles stopped in the road and people left their cars to grab the cash. Police say the person behind the free cash was 38-year old Colin Davis McCarthy, who told officers that he wanted to “gift the money.” He estimated that he’d thrown about $200,000 in bills from his car window, authorities say.
Officers asked McCarthy to stop tossing out the cash “because it was causing a significant traffic hazard,” the news release said. He was “cooperative” and agreed to stop, according to the release.
No criminal charges are currently being considered against McCarthy and it seems that there are no bills left behind.
“Motorists did a thorough job of gathering the loose money as troopers were unable to locate any further currency after the incident,” police said in the release. “Troopers followed up the next morning and were still unable to locate further bills along the roadway.”
The police department urged residents to “avoid the temptation to go looking for money along the highway.”
“These searches create a hazardous condition and put both the searchers and motorists at risk,” they added.
