'What's up with that?': Florida student caught driving 116 mph so he wouldn't be late for school
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A Florida college student was allegedly clocked going 116 mph on a highway because he said he was worried he'd be late for school.
"116 miles an hour? What's up with that?" a Florida Highway Patrol trooper is heard asking University of Florida student Joseph Melhado. Troopers say Melhado was pulled over in Gainesville going 116 mph on Interstate 75, where the speed limit is 70.
"I was honestly just trying to make it to class," Melhado told the trooper. The class that Melhado told troopers he was speeding to attend turned out to be canceled.
FHP says Melhado was charged with speeding and reckless driving. The trooper told the student he put other people's lives in danger.
"Back there, coming down that hill," the trooper said, "and then you used all three lanes, cut-off several cars, you're reckless, man. You're gonna get somebody killed."
But he's not the only speeding student on Florida's roadways.
On Thursday, a Central Florida high school student was ticketed after being caught driving nearly 100 mph in a 45 mph zone. The excuse? He also didn't want to be late for school.
In a Facebook post, Orange County deputies showed a picture of their speedometer that clocked the driver at 96 mph on Apopka Vineland Road near Olympic High School. The speed limit in the area is 45 mph.
Both students will have to face a judge because they were going more than 30mph over the speed limit.