Coin turn: 8m freshly minted dimes spilled on US freeway after truck crash

An avalanche of 8m freshly minted dimes spilled from an overturned truck and closed a Texas freeway for nearly 14 hours.

Witnesses described a sea of silver on US Route 287 in Alvord, 50 miles north of Fort Worth. Clean-up crews tried to suck up the cash, price $800,000, the usage of vacuums extra often used to unclog sewers and drains.

Officials stated the truck concerned within the twist of fate was once an 18-wheeler from the Colorado-based Western Distributing Transportation Corporation, whose operations function a fleet of armored cars that ferry forex and different treasured shipment for purchasers together with the USA govt.

The starting place of the money discharged in Tuesday morning’s rollover isn’t identified. Both the USA treasury division and Western Distributing didn’t go back requires remark.

Public protection officers in Wise county stated the 2 occupants of the truck, believed to be the motive force and an armed guard from Western’s US Armored Company Services (USAC) subsidiary, had been taken to clinic with non-life threatening accidents. No different car was once concerned.

Footage taken by way of CBS News Texas confirmed uniformed USAC workers sifting thru filth, gravel and vegetation along side the roadside to recuperate one of the vital cash, whilst others had been accumulated with shovels and buckets.

The bulk of the cash, in line with Alvord’s mayor, Caleb Caviness, was once retrieved with heavy equipment.

“The funniest part to me was that they picked up the dimes using the vacuum trucks that are used to suck out sewage and water and stuff like that,” he advised the New York Times.

“We were joking around that the city of Alvord would be metal detecting.”

The Wise County Messenger reported that two southbound lanes of US 287 had been closed after the twist of fate in a while after 5.30am, and remained inaccessible till the night, inflicting miles-long traces of visitors.

Texas division of protection soldiers stored some curious spectators from the scene, even supposing the Times reported than an anticipated horde of speculators, fired up by way of rumors circulating in Alvord that the coin spillage was once $8m as a substitute of $800,000, “never showed up”.

According to Western Distribution’s web site, USAC has greater than 40 armored devices provided to safeguard shipment in transit.

“We move cargo for all divisions of the government and were awarded [contracts] to move several of the government’s banks over the years,” wording on its web site states.

“If it must be secure in transit, any amount, anywhere, USAC can make it happen! We would tell you more about what we can do, but it’s confidential!”