St-Jean-en-Royans, France, January 9 1976.

On January 9, 1976, a little after 7:00 pm, M Jean Dolecki was driving his small truck on the country road that connects the national road 531 (Grenoble-Valence) with the road to Pont-en-Royans, and he was near St-Jean-en-Royans. Dolecki was well acquainted with this road, which offered the motorist a drive through picturesque areas in the Royans & Vercors region. Not far from there was the small village of Echevis. Dolecki lived in this village, together with his wife, who was an artist, and their daughter. He was of Polish origin, 55 years old, and ran a company that maintained central heating installations.

This Friday, Dolecki is on his way home after a tiring week of work. The evening is dense and very dark. Suddenly, he sees a very bright ball, high in the sky. At first, he only glances at it. But the ball loses altitude, descends rapidly and seems to be coming towards him. Dolecki slows down and stares at this spectacle. No detail escapes him, because this former sailor has very sharp eyesight. “I got the impression that it was a large globe, somewhat reminiscent of the ones you used to find in cafes,” he explains. “It shone as if it was covered in silver foil. I was fully prepared for it to crash right into the car or into the middle of the road. I braked and pulled over to the right shoulder of the road, completely fascinated by this light. I turned off the ignition, left the headlights on and got out of the car.”

What Dolecki then saw next left him completely breathless. “The shining sphere was there, about 100 meters away (328 feet), but new lights had now been lit and these illuminated it very brightly. It was very large, at least 12-14 meters (39 – 46 feet) in diameter ... The upper part was larger than the lower part. I do not believe that the machine rested directly on the ground, for the lower part emitted a strange light, which did not fade around it. On each side of the top I could see what looked like vibrating solenoids. The roof itself also seemed to vibrate.” (a solenoid is a coil of current, meaning a metal wire wound in a spiral around a cylinder. When the current is applied, a magnetic field is formed.). The roof itself also seemed to vibrate.

"I admit that I was afraid. I backed away a few meters, but I didn't dare get into the car. Then a door opened in the upper part of the UFO, and it seemed to be two meters high (6.5 feet). I felt more and more uneasy. Suddenly three figures appeared in the opening -- three figures who seemed to be wearing aluminum diving suits. They were not people, no way! I can assure you of that! They were rather robots, as tall as the height of the door, and they moved with mechanical movements, without softness. They descended very quickly from the machine. I then saw that they had small legs, and instead of arms they had a kind of telescopic rods that looked like fishing rods. As for their heads, I find them difficult to describe . . . something indefinable, square is all I can say. The three beings moved away from the craft. Not far, only a few meters. They moved like mechanical puppets, with a jump, and their rods -- their arms, if you will, swung up and down. I didn't move, I could hardly breathe. All I could think was that my headlights, if they were on, would attract their attention. But not so... they didn't even seem to notice my presence.”

“After about ten minutes the robots re-entered their machine. The door closed and the lights went out except for the upper part, which still emitted the same blinding white light. Then the machine lifted off and disappeared at breakneck speed. I got into my car. Once I was settled in the car, I made the sign of the cross. I was shaking so much that I couldn't start it. But there was only one thing I wanted to do, and that was to go home. A little later, as I was on my way, I thought that I, who had never opened a science fiction book and who detested films of that kind, and who had never been interested in flying saucers or extraterrestrial beings, had just experienced an event that I would not wish on anyone, and that I would have liked to avoid.”

Source: UFO Information #1 1981