TOULOUSE (31) 28.12.2012

On 28 December 2012 at 21:45, a witness driving on the A61 motorway near the Toulouse-sud rest area observed an intriguing, apparently stationary light phenomenon very close by for 20–30 seconds. He first saw 2 horizontal white lights at very low altitude, then a central white beam illuminating the ground. They went out and were replaced by 6–8 rectangular spots flashing successively yellow and orange; the source summary gives 8 spots. He stopped at a service station, but trees blocked his view. Despite heavy motorway traffic that evening, no other account was collected. GEIPAN found the lack of other witnesses difficult to reconcile with such an apparently striking sight; attempts to locate them failed. The brief observation occurred in a moving car at night on a very busy motorway; see the investigation report. The witness was sincere and sufficiently impressed to return the next day, visit the Muret gendarmerie and send GEIPAN a letter. His account was relatively detailed but uncorroborated. GEIPAN considers reflections combined with a perceptual or interpretive error the most probable explanation, without questioning his credibility. It classifies the case B: probable headlight reflections in the car windows.