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Police: Man speeding 120 mph didn’t realize police lights were for him

A Las Vegas man who police said sped more than 120 mph on U.S. Highway 95 near Searchlight claimed he didn’t realize police lights were meant for him.

On June 1 at 2:30 p.m., 22-year-old Bereket Mekuria was driving a four-door sedan north on U.S. 95 when an officer’s radar gun showed him going 111 mph in an area where the posted speed limit was 75 mph, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report.

The officer turned on emergency lights and made a U-turn in the median waiting for the sedan to pass. The officer activated the lights as Mekuria passed and the sedan slowed down until the officer pulled onto the road and the sedan accelerated.

The officer contacted Nevada Highway Patrol and a trooper saw the sedan going 121 mph before pulling the car over.

Mekuria told police that he was driving fast because he was trying to get home after a trip to Laughlin and that he didn’t stop when he saw the lights “because I didn’t think it was for me,” the report read.

Court records show Mekuria faces misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and evading.

He is due in court on Aug. 1 and is not in custody.

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.

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