WTHR |Woman rams airport security gate

Woman rams airport security gate

Steve Jefferson/Eyewitness News

Indianapolis, Oct. 26 - Airport police took a close look at Gate 14. Michelle Rodenbarger drove her burgundy Chevrolet through the gate and onto the runway.

Jason Archer watched in disbelief. "I thought she was drunk at first. But I really didn't know what was wrong with her."

Archer followed Rodenbarger from the expressway. He noticed she failed to slow down.

Archer says then Rodenbarger went through a four-way stop without stopping. "She blew the stop sign and came straight down (the road). She was probably going 40 or 50 miles per hour and rammed (the) gate."

Jason says he watched as the seemingly out of control driver drove around the airport runway.

He says eventually Rodenbarger drove towards the Fed Ex terminals. "She drove around (an) airplane ... and ended up over by Fed Ex. I couldn't see her after that."

But airport security did see her. They eventually stopped her.

Paramedics took Rodenbarger to St. Francis Hospital.

Airport Spokesman Dennis Rosebrough says, "It would appear from observation that there very well might be some medical condition involved."

Rodenbarger's car is damaged on the front end. Her driver's side mirror is also damaged.

A tow truck driver took her car to a West Washington Street wrecker yard.

Now airport police will examine how Rodenbarger got through their 10 foot security fence and how to keep it from happening again.

Rodenbarger says she is a 29-year diabetes patient. She says she blacked out and has very little memory about driving through that gate.

Either way, the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration and airport police will look closely at those new ten-foot gates.

No word yet if Tuesday's incident could spark changes at the airport.