ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, December 27, 1996              TAG: 9612270055
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-1  EDITION: METRO 

CINDER-BLOCK BUSTER

LENGTH: Short :   27 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  NHAT MEYER/Staff. Blockbuster Video has no immediate 
          plans to open a drive-through service, despite the rather costly 
          hint dropped Thursday by one unidentified customer. The customer, a 
          young male, accidentally pressed his car's accelerator rather than 
          the brake when he went to Blockbuster's Electric Road store in 
          Roanoke County. Thirty startled customers and employees were inside 
          the store at the time of the accident, none of whom was injured. 
          Blockbuster Manager Tamra Fain described the sound of the car 
          crashing through the window as "like an M-80" firecracker. The front
          one-third of the car rested inside the building, with the impact 
          spraying glass inside the store. "I just made a stupid mistake," 
          said the driver, who declined to give his name. The store closed for
          the remainder of the day after the mishap, though customers could 
          return videos via the store's suggested method - an exterior 
          drop-off box. color.