Levelland, Texas, 2–3 November 1957: The Egg That Stalled Cars

Just before 11 p.m. on 2 November 1957, farmhand Pedro Saucedo called the Levelland police to say a glowing, torpedo-shaped object had swept over his truck on a highway west of town, killing his engine and lights. Over the next hours others called in from roads around Levelland describing a bright, egg-shaped light, sometimes sitting on the road, and engines and headlights that failed until it left.

The response

Sheriff Weir Clem and a deputy went out and reported seeing a red light. The story ran nationwide, helped by the launch of Sputnik 2 the next day. The Air Force’s Project Blue Book sent one investigator, who interviewed a few witnesses in a day and concluded that a storm had caused wet ignition systems and that ball lightning explained the lights.

The argument

Astronomer J. Allen Hynek, Blue Book’s own consultant, later said the investigation was inadequate. Weather records showed rain and drizzle earlier, but not necessarily lightning at the time. The case remains a classic “vehicle interference” report.

Ledger status

Marked disputed. Map position is town level.

Sources

• Wikipedia, “Levelland UFO case” — en.wikipedia.org
• Project Blue Book records, NARA — catalog.archives.gov

Part of the World Ledger, batch 1. Original text; no images are used.