Abstract:

Witness driving on highway at night reported having seen a dim shape and a pattern of colored lights above an underpass. From the farther side of the underpass, it appeared to have moved away opposite to the direction he was traveling. No field investigation was made.

Background:

The witness, a med student, telephoned the project 23 February 1968. He reported that, while driving from city A to city B on U.S. highway A and approaching an underpass 34 mi. from city B about 10:00 or 11:00 p.m., he saw directly above his side of the highway a pattern of lights almost in a vertical line. Two red lights were at top and bottom, and a "blue or green" between them. The lights appeared to be stationary directly above the underpass. Just before he entered the underpass, he saw a white light beside the blue/green.

He stopped about ¼ mi. beyond the underpass to look for the lights, thinking they should be overhead, and saw the pattern, now horizontal instead of vertical, low in the ENE, "like a struggling goose in the wind." He thought it was ½-1 mi. away, and perhaps 200 ft. up. He could not recall how it had disappeared.

Arriving at home he went to his apartment and went to bed. He had a strange feeling that "they" were still with him, and he slept poorly. He felt that "they" had communicated, wanting him to go on a trip with them; feeling of great friendship, buddies. He had "told" them he would go, but was not ready yet, too much to do, responsibilities etc.

Afterward, he could not concentrate on his med studies, lost interest, and "felt pressure building up." He acknowledged that he had been considering psychiatric help but wanted to contact the CU project first; he was concerned that psychiatry might interfere with our investigation. Wadsworth reassured him on this point, but explained that we could not offer any personal assistance. Because of the evidence of emotional disturbance predating the sighting, as well as the lack of supporting witnesses or other basis for further investigation, no field study was made.

Commenting on this case, the project's consulting psychiatrist observes: "Unequivocal statements concerning the emotional state of the witness in this, or any other case, cannot be made in the absence of intensive psychological testing and a psychiatric interview. The witness' statements suggest that he was under severe pressures at the time of the UFO sighting in connection with his studies, his marriage, and other factors in his life situation. One would suspect that at the time these pressures were at the very least producing a severe anxiety attack in the witness. It is conceivable that he was on the verge of a more serious mental disturbance. The fact that the witness states that he feels that he would like to consult a psychiatrist indicates his awareness that the solutions to his problems are to be found within himself rather than in the outside world or in the UFO."