UFOs in the daily Press:

Car Hit By UFO On I-40

By JON SOLES Of The Record Staff

A Wilmington woman says her car was hit by an unidentified flying object on I-40 near Benson Sunday.

The object, which appeared to be black in color and about the size of a walnut, seemingly fell from the sky, a witness said.

Linda Moore said she was driving her new Toyota Avalon west on I-40 when an object hit the passenger side of her car.

The woman sitting in the front passenger seat, Mrs. Moore's cousin Vicki Wright, reported that a black object traveling very fast appeared from above a tall pine tree and hit the car just in front of the mirror. The incident happened about 4:20 p.m.

Ms. Wright said the object was moving so fast that she did not have time to sound a warning, according to Mrs. Moore. The impact made a loud noise that startled everyone in the vehicle, she said. Mrs. Moore's two nieces, ages 13 and 14, were in the back seat of the car. She said her older niece also saw the object that struck the car.

"If you saw the dent in my car, you could tell whatever it was was coming real fast," Mrs. Moore said.

She said she did not actually see the damage until she stopped at a gas station at McGee's Crossroads. She said the object gouged a large dent in the car and scratched off paint.

Mrs. Moore said she has contacted her insurance company, but does not yet know how much it will cost to repair the damage. Mrs. Moore said she is at a loss at explaining the object that hit her car, but she is not ruling out extraterrestrial origin.

"I said to Vicki, `You might think I'm crazy, but I think that could have been an asteroid or something coming from the sky," Mrs. Moore said.

"Lord I had to call in a claim on that. I know it sounds stupid," Mrs. Moore said.

Mrs. Moore contacted The Daily Record after reading a story Jan. 1 reporting that an 8-year-old girl on Aquila Road near Benson was struck in the leg by an unknown, unidentified projectile. The girl sustained superficial wounds, according to Lt. Fred Dees of the Johnston County Sheriff's Office.

Lt. Dees said there was no evidence that the girl was hit by a bullet, but he said he was not ruling out that possibility.