Nason Street Overpass

California · United States · Road

A gravity hill in Moreno Valley, a bus that was never there, and handprints in baby powder.

The Nason Street overpass in Moreno Valley carries one of the most widely told legends in America, in its full and complete form. A school bus broke down on the crossing. A diesel truck came over the rise too fast and pushed it off. There were no survivors, all of them children.

No such crash appears in any record, and the same story is told at overpasses and level crossings in a dozen states, which is the clearest sign of what it is. What makes Nason Street worth the drive is the ritual, which is unusually specific here. Stop on the overpass heading south, the direction matters, switch off the engine and put the car in neutral. The car will roll uphill. The children are pushing you clear of the spot where they died, because they do not want it happening to anyone else.

Then sprinkle baby powder across the back of the car and check it afterwards. People find small handprints. They find footprints. They photograph them and argue about them online. The uphill roll is a gravity hill, a very well documented optical illusion in which a slight downgrade reads as an upgrade because the horizon and the surrounding land are tilted. The handprints are what happens when a warm surface, loose powder and a person who badly wants to see something meet in the dark. Go and try it anyway. The illusion is genuinely convincing and the story is a hundred years old in a dozen forms.

FAQ

Where is Nason Street Overpass located?

Nason Street Overpass is in California, United States.