Robert Ward climbed out of his pickup and ambled toward four guys gathered around the front porch of a Tuolumne City house.
"I'm researching a big meteor that blew up near here".
Before he left a few minutes later, the guys knew how to contact him, that he'd pay for meteorites, and that he wanted to meet with anyone who'd seen the dazzling flare above Tuolumne County last weekend. Ward had driven hard from Arizona lured by that fireball, a brilliant, booming event that shook houses, awakened families and jangled telephones for sheriff's dispatchers.
Representatives with the Sonora Police Department and both the Tuolumne and Calaveras County Sheriff's Departments say they fielded numerous calls early this morning in regards to a "loud boom," and "structures shaking." According to a Sonora Police Department report, there were several calls from residents who reported seeing "a blue light," just before the "loud boom." The incident reportedly occurred at 12:09am. The Police Department notes that it also received a call from a resident in Tuolumne, in which a female reported seeing what she thought was fireworks, and then something spiralling over her house.