Road to Heaven? Motorists in Italy steal euro10,000 ($12,580) in coins after truck overturns

ROME — Money makes the world go round — or in this case brings an Italian highway to a halt.

A truck carrying some euro2 million ($2.5 million) in coins overturned in southern Italy, unloading its contents onto the highway and leading motorists to hit the brakes and dig in.

Police in Foggia, where the accident occurred Monday, said Tuesday it was impossible to establish how much money had been stolen, as many of the euro1 and euro2 coins remained in piles on the highway. But motorists acting quickly before police arrived made off with at least euro10,000 ($12,500).

Police said the truck’s driver and one passenger had suffered minor injuries. The truck was carrying the money from the Italian mint to local banks.