On the afternoon of November 30, 1954, Ann Hodges laid down on her couch in Sylacauga to take a nap. She woke up that afternoon to a loud noise and a sharp pain in her upper thigh.
While Hodges was sleeping, an 8.5-pound space rock fell through her roof, bounced off a radio and collided into her thigh and hand. That made Hodges the first person known to be struck by a meteorite.
After the impact, Hodges and her mother, who was also at the house when the meteorite came crashing through the ceiling, thought that the chimney had collapsed due to the large amount of dust and debris.
But when they noticed the rock on the floor, the two immediately called the police.
Hodges’s husband, Eugene, returned from work later that evening only then to be informed about what happened to his wife.
Hodges did not go to the hospital until the next day after a restless night of sleep due to distress. Her only injury was a large bruise below her hip. She survived the impact but died 18 years later due to kidney failure.
