11Alive: Georgia State Representative caught driving alone in HOV lane while talking on cell phone
Tom Dempsey
LOCAL
Georgia State Representative caught driving alone in HOV lane while talking on cell phone
One year after the state legislature voted to prohibit drivers from holding cell phones while driving, an 11Alive viewer caught someone red-handed – and that driver happened to be a Georgia state legislator.
Jim Shumake was stuck in standstill traffic, Wednesday, heading south on the Downtown Connector, when he noticed Rep. Sam Park (D-Lawrenceville) next to him in the HOV lane by himself, talking on a cell phone.
Shumake said he recognized the lawmaker because he had an official tag on his car – SR 101, for "State Representative, District 101."
“He was not only on his phone, he was driving without hands on the wheel, having a deep conversation in the HOV lane,” Shumake said. “If that was anybody else, we would have been pulled over or received a ticket.”