NUFORC Sighting 11700

Occurred: 2000-01-11 02:00 Local
Reported: 2000-01-16 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 10 minutes
No of observers: 1

Location: Westchester, IL, USA

Shape: Triangle
Characteristics: Lights on object

I observed a very bright white light in the sky, approx. 3-4 miles away. It didn't appear to be moving. As I drove towards it, the light got dim and it started moving very quickly and as it passed over I saw it was a triangle shape (but the sides were concave not straight).

I was leaving work very late. I was driving west on Roosevelt Road from 25th street in Westchester. It was a cold, clear night. The stars were easily visible. As I drove, I noticed a very bright light in the sky (almost exactly south southwest). It was high enough in the sky that, at first, I thought it was a star. But as I watched, I realized that it was really bright, which is why it caught my eye in the first place. So bright, that when I looked away, I had blue circles in my vision. At this point I realized that it couldn't be a star, so it must be a plane. I continued heading in its general direction. It appeared to be about 3 miles away or so. I judged that it must have been over the next town, Oak Brook. As I approached Wolf Road, the light suddenly dimmed and, for the first time, it appeared to move in my direction. I turned south on Wolf Road because its direction seemed that it would pass over just a few blocks south of my position. At this point, I really just wanted to see what kind of plane it was since I have never seen a headlight that bright before. The roads were very empty that morning, so I drove very slowly with my head hanging out the window watching it approach. I stopped directly under it as it went over. It appeared to be triangular, except that the sides were sloped inward. It didn't seem to be more than a few hundred feet in the air. And it wasn't until later that I realized I never heard any noise, not even as it passed directly over me. I didn't notice any lights on the bottom of it, but, after it passed over, I did see a blinking light on top, which appeared to be the same kind of beacon all airplanes have, with a few other red lights near the front portion on top. It was heading directly northeast. I realized after it passed over that I forgot to look at the front where I had seen the bright light earlier. So, I decided to follow it. I turned east on a side street. I watched as it moved away, so slowly that it appeared to be floating. I decided to! turn no rth so I could get back to Roosevelt Road and continue the chase. I lost sight of it due to trees and houses for the two blocks ride. When I came back out on Roosevelt Road, maybe 20 seconds later, it was gone. I stopped my car and searched the entire sky, but it was nowhere to be seen. I had my cell phone in my hand the entire time, but I was so distracted that I never made a call to anyone who could have witnessed it too. So, I went home. I didn't think that much about it until a few days later when I heard a local television station news break teaser. It was something like, "are there UFO's in the night skies over Illinois?" But, I forgot to watch the news that night, so I didn't see the story. I decided over the weekend to search the internet for the story. That is how I came across this web site and read about some other sightings almost identical to mine. So, I decided to report it.

Posted 2000-01-22