YEAR: 1983

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: April

DATE: Mid-April

STATE: North Carolina

COUNTY: Henderson County

NEAREST TOWN: Hendersonville

NEAREST ROAD: 26

OBSERVED: We were driving back to Wisconsin after Spring Break in Daytona Beach, mid-April 1983. We had dropped off a friend, who was in the Navy, in Charleston. We were driving through North Carolina on a route past Asheville. I think we were on the 26 near Hendersonville. I had been driving for about 5 hrs, and was in the hills definitely. It was about 2-3am, and it happened very fast. A small (4-5') brown shaggy creature with a very pointed head crossed in front of the car. It's arms were swinging. I was moving fast and it was close. I hit the brakes hard, locking them up and putting the car into a skid. I just missed the thing. This jarred my two friends awake who were, of course, sleeping! I told them that I had "just seen a Jawa walk in front of the car." I guess my brain just couldn't reconcile what it was seeing, so "Jawa" popped in. I thought it was wearing a brown robe with a hood. I chalked it up to "seeing things" and kept driving. But the more I go over my reaction, the more I feel it was "really" there. I've had deer jump out in front of my car and surprise me and I've reacted the same - by hitting the brakes with no delay. It was not like some foggy apparition slowly appearing in front of the car. This thing was there and gone in a second or two.

OTHER WITNESSES: 2 other people in the car were sleeping

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 2-3am

ENVIRONMENT: Mountains and forest