Sphere over East Otay Mesa, CA

The report, as filed

Having finished my shift, I was driving east on Otay Mesa Road, when a luminous ball of white light caught my attention. Given the fact that there are two airports nearby, Brown Field, which was just behind me to the west, and Tijuana International Airport, two miles south of my location and over the border, I figured it was a commercial aircraft preparing to land. But when my passenger, a co-worker, mentioned that the light wasn’t going to make either field, I decided to pull over, close to the right side of the curb. Before I could come to a stop, however, the headlights failed and the engine died. It was just about 12:45 AM when the light glided over SR 125, which was approximately one-eight mile in front of us. As the ball of light approached the vacant field to our right, I became aware of the distinct feeling of pins and needles about my face and in my hands, especially around my mouth and in my fingertips. That’s when I reached for my phone, only it was dead. My coworker reached for the pair of sunglasses that he kept in the glove box. I would say the ball was twenty-five feet in diameter, but I couldn’t make out a distinct edge. At first it remained motionless, about fifteen or twenty feet above the ground, and about forty yards from where our jeep had stalled. Then, after four or five minutes, there appeared to be a quarter panel of the ball that grew brighter. Given the detail that became visible, it became apparent that the ball was turning clockwise, about a half turn every minute or so. I would say eight minutes had elapsed before the ball began to move forward and then climbed smoothly toward the western horizon. The skies were clear, and at no time did the object make any sound. Out of employment concerns, both of us wish to remain anonymous. Witness elects to remain totally anonymous; provides no contact information. PD

Held as-reported from National UFO Reporting Center (record NUFORC #136052). Witness text is preserved verbatim, including its spelling; nothing is edited beyond formatting.