An Oregon man was stopped by police Tuesday after he tried to “gift” strangers money by tossing hundred dollar bills on a busy highway from his car window.
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 Tuesday, according to a news release from the Oregon State Police.
Multiple vehicles stopped in the road and people left their cars to grab the cash, which was reportedly in the form of hundred-dollar bills, witnesses told police.
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.
Police say no criminal charges are currently being considered against McCarthy and motorists appeared to pick the road clean of any 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.