SIGHTING: FAIRLAWN, OHIO (UNITED STATES)
Witness Testimony
"I was in my truck, a 'dock-high' box style on I-77 heading south going to Akron from Cleveland at 2:35 in the afternoon. I do local freight deliveries for a living.The weather was 72 degrees, road was dry, sky was bright nearly cloudless with clear blue sky, no haze. Just past State Rt 18 is the State Rt 21 split where I-77 curves to the left [mileage marker 136] after which I-77 travels for a straight section about two miles long. I had just completed the curve and was beginning this straight section eastward. Naturally my point of focus is on the road and my mirrors. But in my peripheral field of view I noticed up ahead and slightly to the left of the freeway a bright spot low in the sky. It was either directly above or beyond a wooded area adjacent to I-77 known as Fort Island Park in Fairlawn. Looking directly at it I saw the bright light to be what seemed to be shiny silver sphere. I would say it was about one mile ahead and a hundred yards to the left of the freeway. It wasn't real large [huge] but wasn't tiny either. It was about the size of a quarter held at arm���s length. I often drive this road between Cleveland and Akron. At first I thought ���that���s curious, WTF?��� My first thought was it seemed similar to and was positioned relative to the freeway to one of those aviation warning devices suspended along high tension lines seen near airport runways but those are normally bright orange. I dismissed this possibility as I knew there weren't any airports over in that area. I continued observing it noticing its reflective qualities strugling to justify what I am seeing. Then for some reason I decided what I was seeing was a blimp that just happened to be pointing directly head-on and so it would appear spherical and that any moment the blimp would deviate and I would see the normal side length appear. Keep in mind that Akron is home base for Goodyear's blimp and it's not uncommon to see it flying up to Cleveland for Indian's game coverage so seeing a blimp is not unusual around here. I stared at it for a good fifteen seconds or so. I remember saying to myself 'what is that??? What is it? It was a good distance away so detail wasn't clear but it seemed as if it was a mirror like reflective quality. I remember thinking I'll get a better idea what it is when I pass it up ahead.I looked away because I needed to checked my mirrors prior to changing lanes from center to the slower right hand lane. After successfully changing lanes I tried to relocate the sphere it was gone. I thought it must have moved momentarily out of sight behind an approaching tree line and I would see it in a moment passing by but it never did reappear. The object appeared relativly stationary. I did not see it move from it's original point. Coincidentally a few minutes later when I was in central Akron area there in the sky was the real blimp which is painted primarily dark blue with the word GOODYEAR down the side. Nothing close to what I saw up the road. I realized this blimp [the real one] is much smaller than the object I���d seen earlier particularly because this blimp was closer than the object I saw previously. I knew it couldn���t have been the same object because I was going a lot faster that the blimp normally travels. It was only when I saw the real Goodyear blimp that I couldn't explain what I'd seen earlier. "
