Meteorite that damaged Ill. home to be auctioned

PARK FOREST -- A 5-pound meteorite piece that crashed into a suburban Chicago home in 2003 is going up for auction.

The so-called "Garza Stone" will be auctioned on May 17 by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. The rock is named for steelworker and Park Forest resident Noe Garza. It blasted through Garza's roof on March 23, 2003, and landed in a second floor bedroom, just feet away from his 14-year-old son.

Garza sold the meteorite to a private collector for an estimated $45,000 when insurance didn't cover the cost of the damage.

The Garza Stone will be auctioned alongside a pair of mammoth tusks and a saber-toothed tiger skull that was fished out of a Los Angeles tar pit.