A US Woman Ran Into An Escaped Lab Monkey & The 'Outbreak' Conspiracies Are Out Of Control

A woman from Pennsylvania thought she was doing the right thing by helping out at the scene of a car crash.

What she didn't expect was that she'd have a close encounter with a very irritated monkey — or that her story would inspire a bunch of movie-like conspiracy theories and fears.

The incident occurred on Friday, January 21, when Michele Fallon was driving behind a pickup truck that was hit by a dump truck. The pickup was transporting a trailer containing 100 monkeys, reportedly on their way to a lab. The collision threw a bunch of crates holding monkeys onto the highway, and a few even escaped.

Fallon said that after witnessing the crash, she pulled over to help out, initially not realizing what was in the crates.

Early reports suggested that the woman had developed a cough and pinkeye after the monkey encounter, and some leaped to the conclusion that the two were connected. The story spread widely online, with conservative commentator Ann Coulter and others hinting at a virus outbreak.

Fallon, tried to clear the whole thing up with a statement to The Daily Item this week after some reports claimed that the monkey had made her ill.

"I want people to know I am not sick," she told the outlet.

She also posted her side of the story on Facebook. "People think I have a monkey virus," she wrote.

"I was close to the monkeys, I touched the crates, I walked through their feces so I was very close," Fallon told PA Homepage. "I thought I was just doing the right thing by helping — I had no idea it would turn out this way.”

According to Fallon, her feeling ill had nothing to do with the monkeys.

Not only did she hissed at by a monkey, but she also found out that she may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 that same day, she said.

"I was at a birthday party Friday night and people there had COVID-19," she told The Daily Item. "I was exposed to the monkeys and exposed to people with COVID. It was the worst day of my life."

She says she spoke to the CDC after the encounter and also got checked out by a doctor, who gave her a rabies shot and some antibiotics as a precaution.

However, she did not say anything about testing positive for a virus because of the monkeys.

All the escaped monkeys have since been located, and three were euthanized. Officials did not say why the monkeys were killed, according to the Associated Press.

Police also issued a warning about an escaped monkey at the time of the crash — one that might have helped Fallon avoid her situation.

"Anyone who sees or locates the monkey is asked not to approach, attempt to catch, or come in contact with the monkey," they said, according to the AP.

"Please call 911 immediately."

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.