Madison Turner told ABC affiliate WSB-TV that he ordered a Double Quarter Pounder with cheese from a Marietta McDonald's. A few minutes later, a police officer pulled him over and wrote him a ticket under the distracted driving law.
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"The officer explained to me that he observed me eating a burger for 2 miles," Turner said. "He said specifically three times, you can't just go down the road eating a hamburger."
Georgia's distracted driving law reads, in part: "A driver shall exercise due care in operating a motor vehicle on the highways of this state and shall not engage in any actions which shall distract such driver from the safe operation of such vehicle."
"Maybe I was enjoying the burger too much I needed to tone it down. I was certainly willing to do so but I didn't expect to be fined or punished," Turner told WSB-TV.
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Traffic and DUI attorney William Head says it's the first time he's seen a case of anyone being cited for eating while driving.
"Maybe if you had a giant pizza in both hands and you weren't holding the wheel or maybe if you had a watermelon, half watermelon and you were just diving into it holding it with both hands, maybe that would be something," Head said.
The Cobb County Police Department refused to comment on the ticket. Madison plans to fight the citation during his February 3 court date.