News briefs

Thursday, Nov. 11, 1999 | 12:50 p.m.

Suspect sought in sexual attack

Metro Police are searching for a man accused of breaking into a northeast Las Vegas home and sexually assaulting a woman.

The suspect is believed to have forced his way into the home in the 3700 block of Blue Moon Drive in the neighborhood near the intersection of Pecos and Craig Roads at about 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Police say he ransacked the residence and assaulted the woman, who was home by herself at the time.

The suspect is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall, in his mid- to late 20s with a medium build and fair complexion, police said. He also has black hair with blonde streaks and dark eyes.

Anyone with information about the suspect's whereabouts is asked to call police at 229-3421 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

Man killed in car accident

A 37-year-old Las Vegas man was killed when his car collided with another car and slid off the road and into a telephone pole Wednesday night.

The man was headed north on Boulder Highway near the intersection of Gibson Road in a 1971 Volkswagen Beetle about 6:30 p.m., Metro Police said.

Barbara Yingling, 44, of Henderson, was traveling east on Gibson in a 1994 Chevrolet Geo Tracker and had come to a stop at the stop sign at Gibson and Boulder Highway, police said.

Yingling drove across the southbound lanes of Boulder Highway, stopped between the medians, then continued across the northbound lanes, where it collided with the Volkswagen. The force of the collision sent the Volkswagen off the east edge of Boulder Highway into a desert area and finally into a telephone pole.

The driver of the Volkswagen died at the scene, and Yingling was taken to University Medical Center where she was treated and released for minor injuries.

Witnesses said that the Volkswagen was speeding and may not have had headlights on, police said.

The identity of the driver of the Volkswagen is not being released until family members can be notified. Police have not yet determined if the other driver will be charged in this incident.

Bernstein all but in U.S. Senate race

CARSON CITY -- Barring strong family opposition, Las Vegas lawyer Ed Bernstein says he's in the race for the U.S. Senate seat that fellow Democrat Richard Bryan is vacating.

Bernstein, 50, on the stump Wednesday in northern Nevada, also said he's having little of the fund-raising difficulty that forced Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa to pull out of the Senate contest.

Republican John Ensign of Las Vegas, a former congressman who narrowly lost a U.S. Senate race last year to incumbent Sen. Harry Reid, also is running for Bryan's seat.

While he hasn't made a formal declaration that he's a candidate, Bernstein has formed an exploratory committee.