December 29, 2007

Pterodactyl Causes Car Crash

papo pterandon

The Pteranodon replica produced by the Papo company of France.

Giant flying reptiles, believe it or not, have routinely been sighted in the Olympic National Park’s rainforest in Washington State. I’ve been hearing about reports from there for decades. Now comes an intriguing, if unbelievable, account from the same area.

First, here are some quick footnotes about pterodactyls vs pterosaurs vs pteranodons, which the media creatively confuse. No telling what this person really saw.

Pterodactyls are any of various small, extinct flying reptiles (pterosaurs) of the genus Pterodactylus of the late Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. Pterodactyls had long, narrow jaws with sharp teeth, and a wingspan of 3.3 ft (1 m) or less.

Pterosaurs are any of various extinct flying reptiles of the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods with wings consisting of a flap of skin supported by an elongated fourth digit on each forelimb (rather than an elongated second digit as in birds). Some pterosaurs were unique among reptiles in being covered with hair. Pterosaurs had wingspans ranging from less than 1 ft (0.3 m) to close to 50 ft (15.2 m).

Pteranodons are a genus of extinct flying reptiles, descendants of the pterodactyl. Fossils are known from Late Cretaceous (99 – 65 million years ago) deposits of Europe, Asia, and North America. Pteranodons had a wingspan of 23 ft (7 m) or more. The largest specimen had a wingspan of 50 ft (15.5 m). The body was about the size of a modern turkey.

Pteranodons had a crest at the back of the skull and long, pelicanlike, toothless jaws. They probably made nests and spent much time gliding over the ocean searching for fish. They probably depended on air currents for liftoff rather than on flapping their wings.

Now, in breaking news this week….

A 29-year-old Wenatchee man told police a pterodactyl caused him to drive his car into a light pole about 11:30 p.m. Thursday [December 27, 2007].

Wenatchee police cited the man with first-degree negligent driving. A breathalyzer test showed “a minimal amount of alcohol,” said Wenatchee police Sgt. Cherie Smith.

Witnesses told police the man was northbound on Wenatchee Avenue and drifted into a southbound lane for less than a block. Oncoming traffic stopped and waited for the man to pass, Smith said.

He then totaled his car on a light pole, Smith said.

When police asked the man what caused the accident, his one-word answer was “pterodactyl,” Smith said. A pterodactyl was a giant winged reptile that lived more than 65 million years ago.

The man was treated and released at Central Washington Hospital, hospital officials said.~ by Rachel Schleif, Wenatchee World
Man blames car wreck on prehistoric winged reptile,” Saturday, December 29, 2007.

Loren Coleman About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015. Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.

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