Mystery chunks of meat on road upset motorists

Police don’t know how chunks of rotting meat wound up on Aviation Road in Queensbury, New York, on Thursday afternoon, closing part of the road for nearly two hours. And while the mess was amusing to some, to those who drove through it, and those whose cars stink of rotting meat because of it, the situation was not very funny.

Saratoga Springs resident James Teele had the misfortune of meeting the meat on Thursday afternoon as he drove home from work. He said he quickly realized what the ramifications were. “I immediately took my car to a car wash but it was too late,” he said. “My vehicle still smells like rotting meat. Flies are swarming on my vehicle at my office.” Teele said he believed the material was chicken fat.



Without a criminal complaint or major environmental issue or cleanup, State Police are not actively investigating where the meat came from. Dozens of chunks appeared on the road in front of the mall during the late afternoon. It was cleaned up by the state Department of Transportation. Shortly after 5pm, turkey vultures were spotted flying over the area. Police said it appeared it fell off a truck that was transporting the material, possibly from a farm or slaughterhouse to a rendering plant.

But no one came forward claiming responsibility. Matt Phillips, one of the managers of Hoffman Car Wash in Queensbury, said the influx of dozens of sullied vehicles on Thursday night forced the business to have them pre-washed to clean off much of the meat before going through the automated wash. He estimated the car wash was visited by as many as 35 customers whose vehicles were dealing with decomposing material.