Close encounters of the nerd kind: Smiling troopers in 2 states pull over ‘out of this world’ vehicle heading to UFO Festival

Smiling troopers in two states performed traffic stops in recent days on a spaceship-like vehicle heading to the UFO Festival in — of course — Roswell, New Mexico, Fox News reported.

A couple of close encounters of the nerd kind, one might say, to borrow from a sitcom episode from the last century.

The first took place in Missouri, as the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post last Friday about a pair of “friendly humanoids, who have come in peace.”

‘He was also warned about our strict enforcement of warp speed on the interstate and to keep his phasers on stun only while traveling.’

The sheriff’s office noted that the traffic stop “was a little out of this world,” but law enforcement was assured that the vehicle’s occupants — as the below dashcam image indicates — were “heading west to Roswell, NM for a festival.”

Image source: Crawford County (Missouri) Sheriff’s Office

The sheriff’s office added in its post that “there was a brief conversation about his out of space, correction, out of state registration, but he assured us that he would take care of that issue when he returned to Krypton. He was also warned about our strict enforcement of warp speed on the interstate and to keep his phasers on stun only while traveling.”

Image source: Crawford County (Missouri) Sheriff’s Office

Fox News, citing an email from the sheriff’s office, said the vehicle’s driver was observed committing a lane violation; the vehicle’s Indiana tag also was expired.

Considering the “wind/traffic of the interstate plus the size and aerodynamics of his vehicle, he understood that the potential for lane violations existed,” a Crawford County Sheriff’s Office official added in a statement to Fox News.

“Given the good nature of the driver and the interesting nature of the vehicle, we opted to provide a fun social media post for our community,” the official added in the statement, the cable news network said. “It was a great interaction, and we wished him safe travels to his destination.”

There was a second close encounter with same vehicle Monday in Oklahoma, Fox News said.

Image source: Oklahoma Highway Patrol

“It’s not every day you pull over a UFO,” the Oklahoma Highway Patrol wrote Tuesday on its Facebook page. “Trooper Ryan Vanvleck #722 pulled over this vehicle on the Turner Turnpike yesterday for an obstructed tag. They were on their way to a UFO festival in Roswell, New Mexico. Trooper Vanvleck let them go with a warning.”

Image source: Oklahoma Highway Patrol

The event to which the vehicle’s occupants apparently were headed looks to be the “UFO Festival” set to take place in Roswell from July 5 through July 7. The annual gathering promises attendees that they can participate in a “cosmic extravaganza filled with out-of-this-world events, including the renowned Roswell Galacticon, family fun at the AlienFest, the gripping Roswell Incident, the captivating Roswell Film Festival, and enlightening experiences at the International UFO Museum and Research Center.”

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