I was talking with a group of friends over the weekend and the discussion turned to the bizarre, specifically strange happenings while driving.

We were sharing legends we heard about our areas, and one of my friends mentioned that one night on his way home he was traveling at a good rate of speed when all of a sudden he saw two figures just ahead step out on the highway and within striking distance, yet as the car was about to hit the pair they disappeared.A few months later near the same turn he once again encountered a person step out as a turn was being made only to vanish at the instant he was going to be hit by the car.Another friend of mine named John mentioned that he had a similar experience, except his encounter was not with a person but an animal. It was early morning, and as he was heading out of his development to work, he made a turn near some trees when an animal shrouded in the shadow of the pre-dawn night jumped out on the road and was running toward the car.He said he was terrified and braced for impact, instinctively closing his eyes as he slammed on the brakes, and at that last split second, there was ... nothing. No impact, no animal, no crash. He was so dumbfounded he got out of the car and searched in the immediate proximity of the car, but there was nothing.Whatever it may have been heading at his vehicle disappeared in the pre-dawn light.There are a few legends regarding the roads between Summit Hill and Jim Thorpe. Lentz Trail has its own share of phantom hitchhikers.A store clerk told me the story about a commuter on his way home on Route 902. He came down the northern side of Bugzie's Mountain and began heading into town up the White Bear side of Summit Hill.It was a rainy, foggy evening, but his eyes widened as he realized just a few feet ahead of him in the fog was a woman in a white dress standing in the middle of the road. His heart skipped a few beats as he realized his car and this woman were about to collide violently. In that split second as the car made impact, there was no bump.Instead, to his horror, the phantom passed through the middle of the hood, into the passenger compartment and vanished as it passed out of the rear of the vehicle. He told the clerk he stopped to catch his breath.This commuter is not the only one to make contact with this female phantom. Our former editor Bob Urban gave me permission to discuss his encounter on Lentz Trail.He said it was about 4 a.m. when he turned onto Lentz Trail, heading for the old Times News building in Lehighton. He got a short distance in on Lentz Trail when he saw illuminated in the headlights a woman standing on the side of the road.His eyes made contact with hers. She was wearing a long, white dress and he noticed she was wearing no shoes. The sighting and his passing of her took place in a few short seconds.As soon as he passed her, he saw her step into the middle of the highway. He momentarily looked out the windshield, and then when he glanced again in the rearview mirror in that split second she vanished. There was no one on the road but him. I have heard similar accounts along those roads to the south of town from others, but have never encountered anything myself.That is not to say I have not encountered any strangeness while driving in my car. I related in a column over a year ago how I encountered a pair of shades, for lack of a better description, as I was coming south down Route 93 from the top of the Broad Mountain into Nesquehoning.That night my wife was in the car and witnessed the strange sight as well.My friend Carleen related an experience her friend had on the Hudsondale side of the mountain where a young woman jumped into the path of his car and promptly disappeared, terrifying him in the process.My phantom pedestrian experience though was a bit different from these others. I was working in Bethlehem at the time.Construction had not yet begun on the Jaindl developments north of the industrial parks along Route 512. It was summertime and the evening commute was underway. I was on the road around 5:15 p.m. and it was broad daylight. As I was heading north to Bath, I became aware of a man on the side of the road walking toward me.He was about 6 feet tall, wearing overalls and a jacket. There was a hat pulled down, shielding his face from view. At the time, I did not think his appearance was overly odd, just a tad unusual.What happened next stunned me. As I passed the figure, he did not flinch, and in less than a second when I looked in the rearview mirror, he was gone. There was nowhere for him to go, however as we were next to a large field. To this day, I have no idea where he went, but knowing that I never saw his face was a bit unnerving.This is only a sampling of high strangeness on our local roads. There is a famous anecdote in which late actor Telly Savalas had encountered his own phantom hitchhiker only to find out the person was deceased years before his encounter.I am interested if any of you have had this type of experience. If you have had such an experience, please contact me at

info@bdentertainmentonline.com or on my PV Paranormal Press Facebook page.Till next time …