Armored truck spews money on NY highway

SALEM, NY (NBC) -- A woman was driving behind an armored truck when it suddenly started spewing thousands of dollars.

It happened on Route 22 Tuesday morning, just north of the village of Salem. Pat Wesner was driving north in her Toyota Sequoia with Darla, her old English sheep dog.

Wesner says a brinks armored truck passed her on the bumpy road.

"He hit a bump and a spray of change came out in front of my car and I looked and went 'oh my god, that's money!' he hit another bump and bills just flew out all over the place," said Wesner.

Wesner gathered it all up, all $11,000 of it and called police, staying there until they arrived.

Police eventually caught up with the brinks truck to let them know that they dropped something.

New York state trooper Kevin Saunders was the first officer on the scene. He believes the truck's rear door lock malfunctioned.

Wesner is the long-time director of the Pember Museum in Granville, New York.

She says the organization has to scrimp for every penny, but it never occurred to her to keep a cent of the money that came flying her way this morning.

"It's stealing if you take something that's not yours and i never even thought, you know i picked up a lot of bills that were on the ground and never even thought that I would put anything in my pocket. It didn't belong to me," said Wesner.

Brinks isn't commenting on the incident, but some are wondering if pat Wesner might be rewarded for her quick work and her honesty.