Encounter on the Road

This is actually my sister in law, Susan’s story. It happened to her and her boyfriend in the late 1960’s, early 1970’s, on the highway between Mitchell and Scotts Bluff Nebraska.

Susan and her boyfriend had gone out on a date, dinner, and movie in Scotts Bluff, and then to a party in Mitchell. After a couple of hours at the party they headed back.
Susan didn’t drink but her boyfriend did, and after a few miles it was clear he should not be driving. It took some convincing but she finally got him to pull over at a wide spot in the road which happened to be where the highway crossed the Tri-state irrigation canal.

The boyfriend shut the car off while he argued a bit more about his ability to continue driving. Until at last he gave up, and got out of the car while Susan got out of the passenger side and they both walked to the back of the car to switch seats.
There was a bit of moon in a cloudless sky full of stars, and no other car lights in sight in either direction- and there had not been for several miles before.

At the back of the car as they met, Susan was stunned when the area was illuminated by what she described as a strobe light flash that left her a bit dazed for a moment. Her boyfriend had continued on to the passenger side door with his head down. Susan commented on the flash of light but her boyfriend had not noticed it at all. Susan also noticed and commented on the fact that all the night creatures, crickets, cicadas, even the frogs in the canal had gone silent. She took a last look around and climbed in under the wheel.

Reaching for the ignition key to start the car, she found the switch empty and asked her boyfriend for the keys. He looked at the switch and then started patting himself down thinking he must have taken them out and put them in his pocket. Then they both started checking the floorboard. Still nothing.

Thinking he was messing with her they began to argue a bit over it until the car jiggled slightly, as if another car or truck had just gone by- the wind from its passing buffeting the parked car, as the wind will do. But there were still no lights, no vehicles on the road.

Then the car swayed again, harder this time, yet still to reason for it.

They just looked at each other, and then outside around them to see what was going on, when it jiggled for a third time. But this time, it was with the sound of metal bending and groaning as the roof of the car seemed to move over their heads, as if something big was up there. Then a pause and even more weight seemed to be added as the roof and headliner seemed to bend even more downward towards them, popping and groaning as it did, while they could do nothing but sit in terror until, at last, it stopped. Then they waited in silence, crunched down in their seats wondering what to do.

After what seemed forever, whatever was bending the roof in seemed to ease up as the metal popped back up a bit. Then, with a final shocking noise, it popped up even more. And suddenly, to their amazement, the keys slid down the outside of the windshield to rest on the passenger side wiper blade.

They sat there stunned until the boyfriend could get the courage to roll down his window and look in terror up to the roof of the car, where there was absolutely nothing. Then quickly, he reached out and grabbed the keys.

Susan started the car and they drove to the ScottsBluff sheriffs to report it. Surprisingly, a deputy did go out to the spot at sunrise and told the parents that he could see where the car pulled off the road, and could even see their footprints in the dirt as they switched sides, but nothing else. There were no trees for some distance and no power poles or lines going over that area either. All they had was the couples story and the still bent-in car roof. Susan still gets shaken retelling this story and she is a very trustworthy and honest soul.