The parking garage on the southwest side of SouthPark Mall on Fairview Road, with access to both Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus department stores, will re-open for customer and employee use Saturday, according to mall management.

The garage was closed temporarily following an accident on the structure's third level yesterday involving an elderly woman, whose car collided with a support wall after traveling nearly the length of a football field. The impact of the vehicle at a high rate of speed was the cause of the collapse of a single bay of the garage's third level, according to inspectors.

"Damage to the garage was caused by high impact of a car to a spandrel beam. The car hit two planters, jumped a curb and crossed a pedestrian plaza area before impact," said Randy Wilson, P.E., a principal at THP Limited, Inc., a structuring engineering and parking garage consulting firm. "After a thorough inspection, we have determined that the overall integrity of the garage has not been damaged in any way. The design and construction of the garage meet code standards," he added.

"Our concern for the safety of our shoppers and employees extends to every square inch of our property, which include our parking garages," said Randy Thomas, manager of SouthPark. "We extend our deepest condolences to the family of Mrs. Hawkins. We are also very grateful that no one else was injured in this accident."

According to Thomas, work will begin immediately on drawing up plans and a timetable for garage repairs. Meanwhile, unstable debris will be removed, and vehicle and pedestrian barriers will be installed before the garage is re-opened on Saturday.

"It is too early to estimate when all of the repairs will be complete," said Thomas. "Our immediate goal after confirming the safety of the garage has been to re-open it for use by our holiday shoppers. We are anxious to return the structure to full parking capacity as quickly as we can, but safety takes precedence over convenience."