Better than a Florida man story, this Alabama woman was sitting in her home one day when a meteorite crashed through her roof and hit her. Fortunately, she lived to tell her story.
Alabama Woman Hit by 9 Pound Piece of Exploding Meteor
SYLACAUGA, Ala., December 1, 1954. – A celestial disturbance seen in three States was identified yesterday as an exploding meteor which sent a 9-pound fragment crashing through a roof here and injured a 32-year-old woman.
Mrs. Hewlett Hodges suffered bruises when the meteorite tore a hole three feet wide in the roof over her living room, smashed a radio and struck her on an arm and hip.
The object was identified as a sulphide meteorite by George Swindle, field representative of the United States Geological Survey.
Flashes Across Sky
A “bright flash” across the sky followed by explosions was reported about 2 p.m. simultaneously in Atlanta, Newnan and Columbus, Ga., Sylacauga and Birmingham in Alabama, and as far away as Greenville, Miss.
Dr. Walter B. Jones, Alabama State geologist, said that evidently a meteor exploded over Central Alabama and that Mrs. Hodges was hurt by a particle of it.
Mrs. Hodges said she was lying on a couch in the living room of her home when the meteorite smashed through the roof and tore through the ceiling about 2 p.m.
Husband Returns
Her husband, a tree surgeon, knew nothing of the incident until he arrived home from work about 6 p.m.
“We had a little excitement around here today,” Mrs. Hodges told him. “A meteorite fell through the roof.”
Mr. Swindle said the meteorite measured about six inches in diameter, and weighed approximately nine pounds. The inside consisted of a metallic gray granular substance, which responded to tests given for sulphide. The outside coating was a black satin-appearing substance.
Source: Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 01 Dec. 1954.
