VILLA RICA, Ga. — A bank customer went to get money from an ATM and saw more money than she requested. That’s because she says the machine suddenly popped open, exposing cash inside.
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“Who expects for an ATM machine to open up on you?” Wanda Cooper told Channel 2’s Tom Jones.
Cooper couldn’t believe it when she withdrew money from a standalone Bank of America ATM on W. Bankhead Highway in Villa Rica and the door popped open, exposing cash inside.
“Once I heard the juh juh juh juh, time that happened, I reached to get the money and this just opened up,” she said.
She didn’t know what was going on. Cooper recorded video of the door open right after it happened.
You hear her say: “I don’t know who tried to steal out this machine. Don’t put your hand on that. Somebody could have been done.”
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She says the door of the ATM swung open and hit her car, briefly keeping her from moving. Once she got out and saw the money inside, she called Bank of America.
“I couldn’t get anybody from Bank of America,” Cooper said.
So, she called 911. The operator seemed stunned.
“What?” the operator asked after Cooper told her what happened. “The ATM is open,” Cooper replied.
Cooper says she wanted to make sure no one got in the machine and took any money.
Bank customer Keegan Tipton said she did the right thing.
“A lot of people would have taken that money. A lot,” Tipton said.
Once police arrived, Cooper said she had to leave because she was suffering from anxiety.
“I had to go to the ER. I was so rattled,” she said.
She says the encounter is something she will never forget: “I was like, ‘Wait a minute. Is this really happening to me?’”
Bank of America says the ATM was serviced and is now functioning properly.
A spokesperson said the bank thanks Cooper for giving them the heads up about what happened.
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