This is probably not Y2K-related, but important to know those barriers can fail with catastrophic results. -- Philip

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FEBRUARY 19, 18:54 EST

Parking Lot Device Kills Motorist

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Investigators at MacDill Air Force Base were trying to determine Saturday how a parking lot security device malfunctioned, causing an accident that killed a retired reservist.

Donna Jo Norder, 46, was driving into a lot at U.S. Special Operations Command on Friday when a 3-foot barrier popped up underneath her car.

Norder, a retired lieutenant colonel reservist and a Department of Defense contractor, had used a clearance card to access the lot, said Master Sgt. Greg Bade, a MacDill spokesman.

The windshield of her car was smashed, both airbags deployed and the front end of her car was perched on top of the barrier when rescue workers arrived. She died at the scene, officials said.

The device is designed to retract into the ground when an electronic security card is used. The barricades are used to control traffic flow at secure installations such as MacDill.

"Everybody was definitely shocked at what happened," Bade said. "Our sympathies go out to family members. We've lost one of our own."

Copyright 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

http://wire.ap.org/APnews/center_story.html?FRONTID=NATIONAL&STORYID=APIS72NIQEG0

-- Philip Bogdonoff (pbogdonoff@y2kcenter.org), February 22, 2000