NUFORC Sighting 33875

Occurred: 1996-10-15 00:45 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2003-12-17 12:01 Pacific
Duration: 10 Minutes
No of observers: 3

Location: San Mateo, CA, USA

Shape: Orb
Characteristics: Lights on object

Silent Close Range White Light seen on Highway 280 south of Highway 92. Witnessed by 3.

When this first happened years ago - I told my mother, and we together made an online report to a UFO newsgroup. I was interviewed shortly thereafter by three people in the group, but do not recall if it was MUFON or other - so I'm posting this again, in hopes that someone knows something.

I was a Freshman in college driving South on I280 at 12:45am, after visiting my girlfriend in Pacifica. There were few other cars on the highway, but I had been next to roughly 3 vehicles since entering the highway. The night was very clear, no fog, I do not remember seeing the moon or recall if there was a lot of moonlight. It was a "warm" evening, for I had the sunroof open on my VW Jetta. I had just gone under the Highway 92 overcrossing and was between (2) Vista Points headed towards the "Edgewood Rd" Exit. I recall squinting my eyes for a bright light was shining through my back window. I reached up flipped the mirror to night mode and assumed nothing. The light passed under the over crossing and continued to bare down on my car and the two next to me. I slowed down and moved over to the slow lane, for I thought it was a police officer with his spot light on. We came around a slow curve to the right and the light had closed to within a 1/8th of a mile of traffic. At that point I realized that it was just too high above the road to be a car, but perhaps a tall truck. I couldn't make out any shape to it, just an intense white light. It continued to close distance and by this point I could tell that it was not connected to the ground for its movement was "smooth" and "frictionless". The light didn't jiggle like that of a car when it goes over bumps. I recall looking at the driver in the car to the left of me and getting a quizical look back from him, I motioned with my shoulders an "I Don't know" expression... When the light was a couple hundred yards behind us, it was clear it was at approximately 50' off the ground, but I couldn't not make out any sound over my car and the wind noise from the open sunroof. Once again I made an assumption and figured it was a police helicopter with a spot light, or perhaps a small Cesna. My mom and uncle are private pilots and I have a lot of experience around small aircraft. The white light certainly could have been a landing gear light, but I did not see any blinkin! g colored lights to depict a plane. The light then sped up and passed directly over the my car, and the two other vehicles near me. SILENTLY. I could make out a slight dull figure contained within the orb of light, but cannot faithfully say what shape it was. After passing us the light continued off in front of us for roughly another mile, when it made a HARD angular ascent at roughly a 65 degree angle and sped out of site. Shocked, myself and the guy in the car next to me pulled over to the side of the freeway and talked about the "thing." Neither of us could explain, or hypothesize what it was. Creeped out by the dark and lack of other cars on the road we left the scene. I exited at Edgewood Rd, and headed to my house on Crestview Dr in San Carlos. I told my Mom about what I saw and retrieved my police scanner. We sat outside on the back deck watching the western sky for hours, too wired to sleep. We heard little on the scanner of reference, but did hear a call for a CHP officer to investigate a bright light seen at a Vista Point, which are supposed to be closed at dusk. I hope this report helps or provides a link to someone else's experience.

NUFORC Note:

Date is approximate. PD

Posted 2003-12-19