Police found Mike Bell asleep at the wheel of his running vehicle on Trunk Road in the early morning hours of Aug. 14.
The vehicle was "propped up" against the curb at McDonald's drive-thru at 3:20 a.m., a judge heard Thursday in a Sault Ste. Marie courtroom.
It took three attempts before officers, who were responding to a 911 call, "eventually woke him up," prosecutor Stuart Woods said.
The first time he refused to put the window down, then responded by turning on the radio.
When asked a third time, he replied that he was waiting for a friend.
Bell "stumbled when he got out of the vehicle" and had a strong odour of alcohol on his breath, the Crown told Ontario Court Justice Paul Bellefontaine.
The 33-year-old accused pleaded guilty to the Provincial Offences Act charge of careless driving.
The assistant Crown attorney and defence lawyer Joseph Greco jointly recommended a $2,000 monetary penalty – the maximum fine under the Highway Traffic Act – plus probation.
By operating a vehicle in his condition, Bell was a danger to the public, and his actions call for the maximum penalty, Woods said.
He has no criminal or negative driving record, and has made a $5,000 charitable donation, the lawyers told Bellefontaine.Greco said there were Charter of Rights and other triable issues.
Bell put himself in a condition that presented a serious danger to others, the judge said, also noting a $5,000 donation to charity is "very significant."
Bellefontaine gave him 90 days to pay the fine.
During his 12-month probation, Bell is prohibited from operating a vehicle without an ignition interlock device.
Also, he can't get behind the wheel unless he has a blood-alcohol level of zero.
At the request of the Crown, Criminal Code charges of impaired driving and over 80 were withdrawn.