Ice chunk falls from sky onto car dealership Thursday, January 17, 2002
BY EDWARD C. FENNELL
Of The Charleston (SC) Post and Courier Staff
Literally out of the blue, something dropped in Wednesday that froze an employee of a West Ashley auto dealership in his path.
A chunk of ice, perhaps "half the size of a car" fell out of the sky and ripped through the roof of a repair service area at Acura of Charleston dealership on Savannah Highway. Authorities said late Wednesday that samples are being tested by state officials, but for now, the source of the frozen missile remains a mystery.
The ice landed about 9 a.m., just missing a dealership employee and causing $5,000 damage to the roof and damage to a parked, new car, St. Andrews Fire Department Capt. Ray Gorham said.
"It punched through the roof like you punch your hand through a piece of paper," Gorham said.
"It had to come from high up and had to be traveling at a high rate of speed. It had to be a fairly large piece because it put a 3-foot hole in the roof," he said.
Acura parts and service manager Mike Huggins had just strolled through the room when the ball of ice arrived with a loud bang.
"Another minute earlier, and I would have been right beneath it," Huggins said. "I heard a big explosion, and as soon as I did, some of the roof was laying on the ground."
At first he thought perhaps an air conditioning unit on the roof had exploded, but that was soon discounted.
"There was a two-and-a-half foot by three-and-a-half piece (of ice) - a pretty big slab - on the floor, with lots of little chunks," Huggins said. "We saved a couple of chunks," he added.
Though speculation was that the ice was contents of a leaking aircraft toilet that became frozen outside the plane and then fell off, Huggins said the ice seemed clear and pure.
"It didn't have an odor, and it was hard as a rock. It looked like a big hunk of ice, some clear and some white, like normal ice would be," he said.
Gorham said Acura called an insurance agent who came to the scene and advised that a police report would be necessary. The Charleston County Sheriff's Office sent deputies who called in firefighters to determine if the frosty visitor contained any hazardous material.
Firefighters found no trace of a hazard but called Emergency Preparedness Department officials who took samples to send to a lab, Gorham said.
Gorham said that by the time he and other firefighters saw the ice, much of it had melted and it looked brownish.
Huggins said the ice became discolored as it melted and mixed with insulation, asphalt and rocks from the roof.
"I have no clue where it came from," Gorham said. "My best guess is that it was from the edge of a meteor." He said he checked with FAA officials who told him there was no air traffic in the area at that time.
Huggins speculated that it's possible the FAA would not disclose the presence of any military aircraft.
Wherever it came from, the ice has authorities and dealership employees puzzled.
"None of the guys from here, or the firefighters, police or EMS had ever seen anything like this," Huggins said. "Lots of police and firefighters came by just to have a look because nobody could believe that what was being radioed out had really happened."
Gorham said the incident "left us all scratching our heads. In my 16 years of fire service, it's the strangest thing I ever saw."
Huggins discounts any suggestion that anyone aimed a ball of ice at the dealership.
"I don't think the Taliban can shoot it that far," Huggins said.
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