---
title: "Watch as Big Metal Balls Blast Seattle Motorists With No Mercy"
description: "Police even had to shut down a street to gather up the unusual (and dangerous) objects."
date: "2018-10-19"
modified: "2018-10-19"
authors:
  - name: "Jerry Perez"
    job_title: "Deputy Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/jerry-perez"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/24333/watch-as-big-metal-balls-blast-seattle-motorists-with-no-mercy"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "Watch This"
tags:
  - "automotive news"
  - "cars"
  - "News"
  - "odd"
  - "Seattle"
  - "video"
---

# Watch as Big Metal Balls Blast Seattle Motorists With No Mercy

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/10/screen-shot-2018-10-19-at-4-55-59-pm.png>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Every day when we get behind the wheel of our vehicles, we share the road with commercial trucks and their respective drivers who work hard to deliver our goods from coast to coast. Oftentimes we grow so used to seeing them that, unless it’s an open trailer, we hardly give thought to what they might be carrying inside. Unfortunately, motorists in Seattle were made [painfully aware](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/24232/ford-mustang-splits-in-half-during-illegal-street-racing-crash-driver-walks-away>) that one truck was transporting heavy metal balls on Wednesday.

Like a scene out of a bad action movie or a particularly frustrating [video game level](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/23921/forza-horizon-4-xbox-one-review-the-best-arcade-racing-game-of-all-time>), a trailer filled with baseball-sized ball bearings burst open, spilling its contents onto the street below, according to [*Autoblog*](<https://www.autoblog.com/2018/10/18/watch-stunned-motorists-encounter-metal-balls-rolling-down-seatt/>). Motorists were forced to dodge the heavy metal balls as they bounced and rolled down the street, which was, naturally, downhill.

https://youtube.com/embed/9TOXc5-KyOw

https://youtube.com/embed/V4ye_g1gP38

Thankfully [nobody was injured](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/20082/the-half-life-of-danger-the-truth-behind-the-tesla-model-x-crash>), but several cars were damaged by the heavy steel balls. According to comment on the original post, these may actually be grinding media used in ball mills. If that’s the case, they measure just under 3 inches in diameter and weigh roughly 3 pounds each. We’re talking about some big, heavy balls here.

Three pounds may not sound like much, but that’s really a lot of weight, and we don't want to think how much damage they could inflict if they gained enough momentum rolling downhill. Seriously, they could kill someone. And as these videos show, they certainly make quite a racket as they roll down the street, bouncing off of cars and curbs.

We don’t have any photos of the carnage these balls left behind, but considering the noise they made bouncing off floor pans and front bumpers we can only imagine it wasn't pretty.

## Author
Jerry is responsible for upholding The Drive's ethos as an audience-first, enthusiast-driven car blog that serves up industry-leading news, reviews, culture, and motorsport coverage. Overseeing a staff of writers and editors from his home base in Indianapolis, he helps curate the site's daily rundown, as well as its medium- and long-term content strategies. Jerry joined The Drive in 2018 as a writer and worked as news editor and managing editor before becoming the deputy in 2023. As a lifelong car enthusiast and racing fan, Jerry believes that all cars are cool, but the people behind the machines are even cooler. This belief often gives The Drive a slightly different focus from most other car sites, where we explore the humanity behind the machines. When he's not obsessing over the day's biggest stories or hanging out at a race track, Jerry can be found behind the wheel of a car, most likely sharing a laugh with his teenage son or daughter.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/drive_jerry/>)