Over 3 million nickels were strewn all over the southbound lanes of I-95 in Brevard County, Florida after two trucks collided on Wednesday. The truck that caused the accident was carrying the nickels from the US Mint in Philadelphia to the Federal Reserve in Miami for public distribution. The Miami facility is a branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
The crashed caused the closing of the southbound lanes for over 5 hours.
Reports say that the truck carrying the nickels struck another truck from behind causing both semis to jack knife. The accident killed William Sherman, 61, the guard who was sleeping in the back of the cab. William Rohrman, 54, was driving and was taken to a local hospital. The driver of the other truck was not hurt.
Florida State Troopers protected the scene until the U.S. Secret Service arrived. They estimated that $185,000 in nickels spilled out onto the roadway.
The report said that the U.S. Mint uses private haulers in regular trucks to transport money so that they blend in with the rest of traffic for security reasons. The private company is responsible for all of the money they haul.
Image courtesy of WFTV-9 of Orlando, Fla.