This article is more than 3 months old

Georgia man hit with $1.4m speeding ticket before officials clarify error

This article is more than 3 months old

Connor Cato says he was first told by court to either pay up or appear in court after driving 90mph in a 55mph zone

A Georgia man was left reeling after receiving a $1.4m speeding ticket, but city officials say the figure was just a placeholder, not the actual fine.

Connor Cato tells WSAV-TV in Savannah that he received the citation after getting pulled over in September for driving 90mph (145km/h) in a 55mph (89km/h) zone.

He called the court thinking the figure was a typo, but says he was told he either had to pay it or appear in court in December.

Savannah officials say anyone caught driving more than 35mph (56m/h) above the speed limit has to appear in court, where a judge will determine the actual fine.

They said the figure Cato received reflected an automatically generated placeholder. The actual fine cannot exceed $1,000 in addition to state-mandated costs.

The officials told WSAV the court was working on adjusting the language in e-citations to avoid confusion in the future.