The Sighting
At 1:40 a.m. on May 3, 2008, a driver was heading north on Interstate 5, the Golden State Freeway, near the I-5/US 101 interchange in downtown Los Angeles. The weather was cool, at 15°C, with clear skies, 58 percent humidity, and 10 miles of visibility.
As the driver approached downtown, he saw a bright golden light partly obscured by the skyline. As he drew closer, he realized it came from two parallel lamps, each pointed downward. They were large and close together, with a warm golden glow like the heat lamps used to keep food warm at a buffet.
The driver slowed from 65 mph to 30 mph and saw the object overhead, about 200 to 250 meters (700 to 800 feet) in the air and several hundred meters from the road. From below, it appeared oval, like a human eye or a football, with dark metallic surfaces. Fine vertical and horizontal lines were visible across the metal, but there was no movement or flashing lights of the kind typical of police helicopters or aircraft.
The object made no sound. No wings, propeller, or engine were visible. It remained stationary, as if “locked” in the air, apparently over an area reserved for aviation. It was near the downtown skyscrapers, yet less than a mile from the main streets. The area lies within shared airspace used by private airports and the flight path to Los Angeles International Airport, about 15 miles to the south.
The object remained steady in view for about 45 seconds. The driver glanced back at the road, then looked again and saw that the light had disappeared. Attempts to find it around the interchange and nearby, including a drive around the 7th Street Bridge over the Los Angeles River, were unsuccessful.
About the Eyewitness
The eyewitness is a 23-year-old man with a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science (psychology) from a private college. He describes himself as an ordinary driver with no prior experience observing or investigating unexplained phenomena.
Why Is This Sighting Interesting?
The report describes an oval metallic object with two glowing lamps, unlike familiar helicopter, airplane, or blimp designs. Its location in a densely populated city, close to major flight paths, adds to the mystery: the area is tightly regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration. The object’s shape and lights also make this a distinctive sighting, unlike anything in official accounts of aerial activity at the time.
Summary
The report is an unverified account of an unidentified object hovering over downtown Los Angeles for several minutes. There are no other eyewitness accounts or video recordings, leaving the incident open to questions and different interpretations.
