On the quiet early morning of March 28, 1967, David Morris experienced an encounter that would leave him questioning everything he thought he knew about our world. While driving home from his late shift at the Lamb Electric Company in Kent, Ohio, Morris noticed an unusual orangish-red glow through the thick fog that had settled after an electrical storm. Initially assuming it might be a house fire, he slowed his 1964 Chevrolet to investigate what lay beyond the crest of the hill on Monroe Falls Road.

What Morris discovered next defied explanation - a cone-shaped, glowing object approximately 25 feet tall hovering in a wheat field, and several small humanoid figures with oversized heads crossing the road. Despite his attempts to brake, Morris's vehicle struck one of the figures. Overcome with fear, he fled the scene, later returning with a friend to find only skid marks on the road and unexplained dents in his car's chrome trim. The incident was investigated by local UFO researchers who found Morris to be a credible witness with no history of fabricating stories, making this rare alleged collision with an extraterrestrial being all the more compelling.

Key Takeaways

David Morris reported colliding with a small humanoid figure while driving home after witnessing a glowing cone-shaped object in a field near Kent, Ohio in 1967.
Physical evidence included unexplained dents in Morris's car chrome trim and skid marks on the road, though no trace of the beings was found during daylight investigation.
Morris was considered a credible witness by investigators, and the encounter remains one of the few reported cases of a vehicle striking a presumed extraterrestrial entity.

The Morris UFO Encounter

Strange Sighting on March 28, 1967

On March 28, 1967, at approximately 2:20 a.m., David Morris was driving home from his shift at the Lamb Electric Company in Kent, Ohio. A heavy electrical storm had occurred earlier that evening, leaving a thick fog across the area. As Morris traveled along Monroe Falls Road, he noticed an unusual orangish-red glow on the left side of the road, beyond a hill. Initially, he thought it might be a house fire, possibly caused by lightning from the earlier storm.

Morris slowed his 1964 Chevrolet to a crawl as he approached the hill. When he reached the crest, he observed something unexpected in a wheat field about 25-30 yards from the road. The object was wedge or cone-shaped, approximately 25 feet tall and 12 feet wide at its base, with a ball-shaped component at its apex.

Rather than feeling frightened, Morris was primarily curious about the strange object. He estimated he was traveling at about 30 miles per hour as he continued down the road.

The Mysterious Beings

As Morris redirected his attention to the road ahead, he made a startling discovery. Approximately 45-50 feet in front of his car stood four or five small figures with an unusual appearance:

Height: 3-4 feet tall
Heads: Abnormally large and emitting the same orangish-red glow as the object in the field
Bodies: Stocky build with humanoid features (two arms, two legs)
Movement: Remarkably quick and agile, more so than Morris believed humans could move
Clothing: Appeared to be wearing uniform coverall-type garments

The beings moved rapidly back and forth across the road between drainage ditches on both sides, seemingly engaged in some purposeful task. They showed no awareness of Morris's approaching vehicle despite his headlights illuminating the area.

Collision with an Extraterrestrial

Morris immediately applied his brakes upon seeing the figures, but couldn't stop in time. The right front of his car struck one of the beings as it crossed the road. The vehicle continued another 8-10 feet before coming to a complete stop.

His initial instinct was to exit the vehicle, but a sudden thought stopped him: "If I killed them, they'll kill me." Overcome with fear, Morris accelerated away as quickly as possible in the foggy conditions. Glancing in his rearview mirror, he observed the remaining figures standing together in a group, though he couldn't determine if one was lying on the road.

After arriving home, Morris spent two hours in his living room contemplating the experience before finally going to bed. Later that day, he returned to the site with a friend. They found:

Skid marks on the road where Morris had braked
No footprints or other evidence of the beings
No visible signs in the field where the cone-shaped object had been
Dents in three places on his car's chrome trim and visible scratches

Morris noted these additional details about his experience:

The cone-shaped object appeared to hover 2-3 feet above ground
It seemed translucent with light coming from within
No markings, windows, doors, or sounds were detected
A brass-like odor was present (not believed to be from his vehicle)
His car functioned normally throughout the encounter

Following this incident, Morris refused to drive that route alone at night again. Investigators Frank A. Smith and Virgil E. Tarleton, the latter from the Goodyear UFO Society, found Morris to be credible with good standing in his community and no history of fabricating stories.

Aftermath of the Encounter

Reaction and Decision-Making

After the collision with the strange figure, David Morris sped away from the scene in a state of near panic. When he arrived home around 2:30 AM, he found himself in a dazed condition, unable to immediately process what had just happened. For nearly two hours, he sat alone in his living room, contemplating whether he should notify authorities about the incident. The fear and confusion that gripped him made decision-making difficult.

Morris wrestled with conflicting thoughts about what he had witnessed. He wasn't concerned about having struck a normal human, but rather feared potential retaliation from the strange beings. "If I killed them, they'll kill me," was the thought that flashed through his mind at the scene, preventing him from exiting his vehicle to investigate.

Return to the Location

Later that same day, Morris gathered his courage and returned to the incident site, bringing a friend along for support. They carefully examined the wheat field where the cone-shaped object had been hovering but found no physical evidence of its presence - no landing marks, no burned vegetation, nothing unusual whatsoever.

On the road itself, they did locate skid marks that corresponded with where Morris had slammed on his brakes. However, despite a thorough search, they discovered:

No blood or tissue samples
No unusual footprints
No other physical evidence of the beings
No signs that anything had been struck

An inspection of Morris's 1964 Chevrolet revealed minor damage consistent with his account:

Dents in the chrome trim in three places
Visible scratches on the front right side

The experience fundamentally changed Morris's behavior. He informed reporters that he would no longer drive along Monroe Falls Road at night, at least not alone. This back route that he had regularly taken to and from his job at the Lamb Electric Company in Kent was now associated with something unexplainable and potentially dangerous.

Public Response and Community Assessment

Morris's Standing and Reliability in the Community

David Morris was generally regarded as a trustworthy individual with good standing in his community. Residents who knew him described him as level-headed and not prone to fabricating stories or seeking attention. His position as a finish grinder at the Lamb Electric Company in Kent, Ohio, where he worked evening shifts from 5 PM until 2 AM or 4 AM, established him as a responsible working man with a consistent routine. This regular schedule and reliable employment history lent credibility to his account of events on March 28, 1967.

Morris's reaction to the incident displayed genuine confusion rather than a desire for publicity. When approached by reporters from the Kent Curator newspaper, he appeared hesitant and uncertain, stating simply, "I can't say what I saw" and "I've never had an experience like this." His decision to avoid the Monroe Falls Road afterward—at least when traveling alone at night—suggested genuine apprehension following his experience.

Investigation by Independent UFO Researchers

The unusual incident attracted the attention of two independent investigators: Frank A. Smith from Canton and Virgil E. Tarleton from Akron. Tarleton, who was affiliated with the Goodyear UFO Society at the time, took particular interest in the case. After interviewing Morris and examining the evidence, Tarleton vouched for Morris's character and credibility.

The investigators documented several key findings:

Physical evidence: Examination of Morris's 1964 Chevrolet revealed a dent in the chrome trim in three distinct places, along with visible scratches consistent with Morris's account of striking one of the small figures.
Site inspection: Morris and a friend returned to the location that afternoon to search for evidence. While they located skid marks on the road matching Morris's description of where he braked suddenly, they found no footprints or other traces of the beings or the cone-shaped object in the wheat field.
Consistent details: The investigators noted that Morris maintained consistency in his description of the events, including the appearance of the 25-foot tall orange-glowing cone-shaped object, the 3-4 foot tall humanoid figures with oversized heads, and their rapid movement patterns across the road.

Notably, Morris chose not to report the incident to police or other authorities immediately after it occurred, citing fear of ridicule—a common concern among those who report unusual encounters.

Comparative UFO and ET Encounters

Similar Cases According to Albert Rosales

The David Morris incident represents one of several documented cases where drivers have accidentally collided with apparent extraterrestrial entities. According to UFO researcher Albert Rosales, this type of encounter, while rare, has occurred in "three or four other cases" where individuals reported striking what appeared to be non-human beings.

The pattern in these cases shows remarkable consistency - the collisions are always described as accidental rather than deliberate. In one particularly disturbing instance that Rosales mentioned, the witness who struck an entity subsequently disappeared. This suggests potential consequences to these interactions that go beyond the initial encounter.

Related UFO Incidents

The phenomenon of unusual aerial objects and entity encounters extends well beyond the Morris case. On August 15, 1955, Yorkshire, England experienced an extraordinary concentration of UFO activity with four separate sightings reported in a single day:

Location Description of Sighting Silsdon Golden ball object Moorcam Flashing white object along water's edge Wakefield Fluorescent multi-colored cigar-shaped object Bradford Entity encounter witnessed by father and son

The Bradford incident was documented by Jack Ibsen, a writer for the now-defunct Flying Saucer News magazine, who interviewed the Sutters family. Ernest Sutters, a 35-year-old lorry driver described as a "no-nonsense type" with a wife and two children, had an encounter that stood out even among these clustered sightings.

These cases show that the Morris incident, while unique in certain aspects, fits within a broader pattern of unexplained encounters that continue to challenge conventional explanations.

Conclusion

The David Morris UFO incident of March 28, 1967, remains one of the more unusual close encounter cases in UFO literature. Morris's experience near Kent, Ohio involved not only observing a strange conical craft in a wheat field but also a vehicular collision with one of several small humanoid entities. The beings, described as 3-4 feet tall with oversized heads emitting an orangish-red glow, exhibited extraordinary speed and agility while moving across Monroe Falls Road.

Despite returning to the location with a friend later that day, Morris found little physical evidence beyond skid marks on the road and some damage to his car's chrome trim. The area where the cone-shaped object had hovered showed no signs of disturbance. Morris reported detecting an unusual brass-like odor during the encounter, though his vehicle functioned normally throughout the incident.

Following the event, Morris altered his driving habits, avoiding that particular route at night when alone. Investigators Frank A. Smith and Virgil E. Tarleton deemed Morris a credible witness with good community standing. While vehicle collisions with alleged extraterrestrial beings remain extremely rare, similar incidents have been documented, including cases with more troubling outcomes for the witnesses involved.

The Morris Incident: Extraterrestrial Collision on Ohio's Backroads