This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — A man who returned a bag full of cash after it fell from an armored truck on a freeway off-ramp last week is being rewarded with $5,000 for his honesty.

Dan Kennedy met up Monday with a local executive from Brinks, the cash transportation company that lost the bag when it was jarred loose from its truck just off of I-80 on March 31. Kennedy said a company representative called him late last week and told him a $5,000 check was on its way once he could sign some tax paperwork on behalf of the company.

"He says, 'Hey Dan, we'd like to thank you for being a good citizen, doing a good job,'" Kennedy said Monday.

Kennedy was on his way to work at Exelis, an aerospace manufacturer, when he came upon the bag of cash last month. He was at his workplace Monday as he described the reaction to his good deed.

"I'm just shocked by all this. … It's all just a little overwhelming," Kennedy said. "(The story) is everywhere. It's in England, I've got a call from Canada."

I'm just shocked by all this. … It's all just a little overwhelming. (The story) is everywhere. It's in England, I've got a call from Canada. –Dan Kennedy

Some of Kennedy's long lost friends, from where he grew up in Brigham City, are sending him messages of congratulations and he is continually getting Facebook alerts, he said.

"My folks called me, told me they were proud of me," he said. "It felt real good."

Kennedy didn't know what else to say but "thank you" when he was told about his reward. He still feels awkward about being compensated for doing the honest thing.

"Wow, that's a whole lot of money," Kennedy said of the $5,000. "Why would I get anything for that?"

Kennedy insists almost anyone else would have also returned the cash in the same situation.

"I'm old (and) now I recognize mistakes before I make them," he quipped.

Kennedy is still unsure how he plans to use the $5,000.

"My wife’s got some ideas on it, I’ve got some ideas on it. I just don’t know."

Travis Truft, Brinks manager in charge of Salt Lake City, visited with Kennedy on Monday and gave him tax forms to fill out on behalf of the company before the check is issued.

"It’s good to actually give somebody a reward for doing something right," Truft said.

Related Story

UHP praises man for returning bag of cash that fell from truck SALT LAKE CITY — Dan Kennedy was driving to work Tuesday morning when he saw a large orange bag spill onto the roadway from a truck in front of him. Not wanting the bag to become a traffic hazard, Kennedy pulled over on the westbound I-80 off-ramp leading to Wright Brothers Drive, near Salt Lake City International Airport, and ran to retrieve the bag.

Brinks is not saying how much cash was in the bag Kennedy recovered.

"I can't answer that," Truft said, when asked about the amount.

Kennedy said last week that one of the smaller bags on the inside, which was about "steak-size," contained about $22,000. The entire bag, filled to capacity, was about 4 feet tall, 2 feet wide and weighed roughly 75 pounds.

Truft was also mum about the status of two employees who were in the truck when it lost the bag. He wouldn't comment on whether they were disciplined, only adding, "Steps have been put in place to make sure it never happens again."

"Everybody all the way up knows about these incidents. We don’t like them lightly," Truft said.

Brinks has completed its investigation into what caused the bag to dislodge, though very few details were released by Truft. He said all of the dislodged money was returned.

"Everything is recovered, everything is accounted for," he said.

Truft said the company is fortunate and grateful Kennedy thought on his feet and removed the bag from the off-ramp.

"I can’t imagine if a car would have hit it," he said.

Contributing: Nicole Vowell

×

Photos

Related Stories