All this media hoopla about the boy who was "struck by a meteor" reminded me of
an incident my sister experienced. She is a very reasonable person and is
especially not one to concoct stories.

A few years ago, my sister was driving through Florida's Ocala National Forest,
when she saw a blinding flash of light streak past. She described it as a "ball
of fire." The flash appeared to be well overhead and continued to beyond her
visual range. At nearly the same moment, a heavy substance "splashed" across
her windshield. Being the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, my
sister continued driving to a populated region, while being careful not to
engage her windshield washer. When she was finally able to stop and check the
windshield, my sister found (in addition to the usual obliterated insects) a
substantial gray, sticky, ashy material. She said that it reminded her of ash
typical to a heavy forest fire (wildfires are a frequent event in Florida,) but
there were no fires visible in the forest at that time; nor were any fires
reported in the weeks before or following.

Is it possible that my sister saw a meteor and that the substance on her
windshield is related?