Cash fell from the sky in Detroit. It was their father’s final wish

Just before starting her shift, at approximately 1 pm on June 27, 2025, Anaya Toney, an employee at a restaurant tucked between Gratiot Avenue and Connor Street, noticed something raining down from the sky. From the opened hatch of a helicopter, money ($5,000 in cash) was raining down, as news footage also shows. All six lanes of traffic came to a standstill and remained so for at least 30 minutes as people jumped out of their cars and rushed to collect the falling bills. “Everybody got a little bit,” Lisa Knife, an employee at Airport Express Lube & Service, reported later. The rain of cash, she revealed, was the last wish of a dying man, according to a report by Detroit News.

A surprising funeral

Nicknamed “Plant,” 58-year-old Darrell Thomas was a car wash owner in East Detroit. After battling with Alzheimer’s for a long time, the man took his last breath on June 15, 2025. Fulfilling his last wish, his sons arranged a helicopter, dropping thousands of dollars worth of cash along with rose petals in an unsuspecting funeral. Mourners and passers-by rushed to the spot to grab the cash. "Detroit, y’all might not know who my father was, but he was a great father," Smoke, one of his sons, announced. "Among his community he was a legend, and he blessed everyone and that was his last blessing to everyone. That’s all it was."

The only thing amiss was: they forgot to inform the Detroit police about planning on distributing more than rose petals. Thankfully, however, no one was charged.

He was a giver

In conversation with Detroit Free Press, Thomas’s niece, Crystal Perry, said, “This was a final expression of love from him to the community because he was a giver. Yesterday was simply a farewell tribute to an Eastside legend.” Knife, who witnessed the whole scene, recalled that although people ran for the money, it wasn’t too dramatic, just peaceful. "There was no fighting, none of that," she said. "It was really beautiful." After the funeral and the rain of cash, several generations of Plant’s family gathered together for a block party celebration, hanging around rides he loved so much. "Many blessings to everyone and long live Plant. Long live Plant that’s it," said Smoke. The dying man’s last wish intermittently made the day for dozens of strangers and his family members. In science, this is called the fruit of generosity.

Are humans inherently selfish?

A study titled “The Science of Generosity,” published by the Greater Good Science Center, highlighted that although sometimes selfish, humans are innately designed to be generous. Contrary to what it seems on the surface, the behavior of generosity is actually beneficial for the giver, as it triggers happy chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin in their bodies. For many people, a random act of generosity can prove to be therapeutic, stress-relieving and giving a sense of purpose.

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