BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- Millions of nickels shut down part of I-95 in Brevard County most of Wednesday morning when two big rigs crashed. One of them was carrying fresh nickels from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia headed for the Federal Reserve in Miami.
RAW VIDEO: Ground View Of Scene |
Aerial View Of Crash
IMAGES: Semi Accident Spills Millions Of Nickels On I-95
RAW INTERVIEW: Driver Describes Crash That Killed Other Driver, Spilled Nickels
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The crash forced the closure of southbound lanes of I-95 near Mims to be closed for several hours, but at least one lane was open by 11:15am.The driver of the other semi said he didn't even know what was on the ground when he hopped out of his truck. He just rushed to help the two armed guards.The money that poured out of the truck added up to $182,000, over 3.5 million nickels."It was very shocking, very shocking. Like bam!" explained driver Ferlandis Green
(full interview).
Green didn't know what hit him as he was driving south on I-95 near Mims. A truck carrying more than three million nickels rammed the back of his green big rig. The nickel-carrying truck flipped over and broke into pieces in the median and Green's truck jackknifed."Had to be going at least 70 miles an hour at least [to] cause that much damage," Green said.Green said he had no idea $182,000 worth of nickels had spilled into the road. His concern was helping the two armed guards inside of the other truck."I seen two guys in the truck. One in the front, one in the back, pinned in. I tried to help them, but I couldn't help them. Nothing I could do," he said.The impact of the crash killed the guard who was driving. His co-worker in the back of the truck was rushed to Orlando Regional Medical Center.State troopers and deputies made sure no one got close to the money until the Secret Service arrived. They secured the guns the guards were carrying."It's shiny across the roadway," said Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Kim Miller. "There are nickels in the grass, across the interstate."Cleanup crews used blowers and shovels to secure as many of the coins as they could. The money came from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia and was supposed to go to the Federal Reserve in Miami. A spokesperson with the U.S. Treasury told Eyewitness News that the coins were picked up by the guards Tuesday. They work for a private company in Trenton, New Jersey called IBI, who refused to answer any questions.
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