Fistful of dollars: Man tosses cash on Oregon interstate to ‘bless others’

EUGENE, Ore. — A man allegedly threw thousands of dollars of cash out of the window of his vehicle while driving on an Oregon interstate on Tuesday, apparently emptying his family’s bank account in the process.

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According to the Oregon State Police, troopers responded to a call on Interstate 5 at about 7:23 p.m. EDT, KEZI-TV reported.

Troopers arriving at the scene spoke with Colin Davis McCarthy, 38, who allegedly said he was well off financially and wanted to “bless others” by throwing $100 bills onto the highway, state police spokesperson Capt. Kyle Kennedy told The Oregonian in an email.

Troopers expressed their concern to McCarthy that people running to pick up the loose cash on the highway were in danger of being injured by oncoming traffic and he agreed to stop, according to KEZI.

According to troopers, McCarthy allegedly said he had thrown about $200,000 in cash onto the highway during the incident, the television station reported. He declined to say where he obtained the money, according to The Oregonian.

“My understanding is the money was taken from accounts the individual had access to,” Kennedy wrote in his email to the newspaper.

Several bystanders were able to scoop up some of the cash, and it was almost completely gone by 8 p.m., according to KEZI.

“It’s hundred-dollar bills floating around and I’m like, ‘What!?’ So my boyfriend and I decided to go one way, he goes the other way and so far I’ve found 300 dollars!” a woman on the scene, who was not identified, told the television station.

State police Lt. Jim Andrews said that police spoke with a relative of McCarthy, who said his actions were “normal behavior for him.”

The relative also allegedly said that McCarthy had gotten access to the cash by completely draining his family’s shared bank accounts, KEZI reported.

“Because it’s shared, they both have equal interests in the money,” Andrews told the television station. “To prevent something like that happening if you were estranged, you would definitely want to create a secondary bank account and then take out a portion of the money that you believe is rightfully yours.”

McCarthy could not be reached for comment, The Oregonian reported.

He has not been charged with a crime, according to KEZI.

“He could have been charged in a situation like this for danger being created because of his actions -- disorderly conduct, potentially reckless endangering, but most likely disorderly conduct,” Andrews told the television station. “I know the troopers considered charging him with that or arresting him, but after a conversation with him they elected not to.”