Porta-potty hits referee. You just can’t make this crap up. The bizarre moment happened during a high school sports event in State College, Pennsylvania.
The incident, which was caught on video and has since gone viral, unfolded during a high school sports event as an unexpected storm ripped through the area. The footage shows the blue portable toilet lifting off the ground like a missile and crashing directly into the official, who had little time to react before being knocked to the ground.
Witnesses at the scene described the sound of howling wind followed by shouts as the restroom rocketed across the field. “It looked like something out of a movie,” one bystander told local media. “One second it was just sitting there, the next it was in the air, spinning like a tumbleweed — and boom.”
The porta-potty hits referee moment occurred during a broader storm system that tore through central and northeastern parts of the U.S. The National Weather Service reported gusts exceeding 60 mph in some areas. In Pennsylvania alone, the storm caused widespread power outages, felled trees, and tragically resulted in three fatalities, including a man crushed in his vehicle by a falling branch.
Emergency services were stretched thin across multiple counties, as thousands of residents lost electricity and roadways were flooded or blocked by debris. The stadium where the incident occurred was evacuated shortly after, and all games were suspended.
The condition of the referee remains unclear. Officials at the scene stated he was “conscious and responsive” but declined further comment. It’s also unknown whether the porta-potty had been occupied before its impromptu flight, though local EMS later confirmed it was found empty.
City officials are now assessing the damage while also reviewing safety protocols for outdoor events amid unpredictable weather patterns. One Parks Department representative noted, “Portable toilets aren’t typically part of our severe weather briefing — but they will be now.”
This incident adds to a growing number of strange weather-related accidents this spring, as meteorologists continue to warn of increasingly volatile conditions due to shifting climate patterns.
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