A late-night Taco Bell run turned into a highway car accident on Tuesday, July 1, when a Wisconsin woman crashed into a sheriff’s deputy on I-43 in Darien.

Authorities say the 41-year-old driver from Geneva admitted she was eating while driving and didn’t realize how fast she was closing in on the squad car ahead of her.

The crash happened around 11:10 p.m. as the Walworth County deputy traveled north near Highway X. He noticed a car quickly approaching from behind while he cruised at about 60 mph in the right lane. When he tried to speed up, the vehicle still slammed into the back of his patrol car. The impact sent the deputy to the hospital with minor injuries.

According to investigators, the driver immediately told them she had been eating Taco Bell and “wasn’t paying attention”

Deputies said she showed no signs of impairment and denied drinking or using any drugs, NewsNation shared.

Though this crash allegedly didn’t involve alcohol or drugs, it’s a reminder that distracted driving can be just as dangerous.

Federal data has linked eating at the wheel to higher crash risk

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration previously warned that even a moment’s distraction can lead to serious accidents.

In the group’s Naturalistic Driving Study, “dining” while driving was a contributing factor in approximately 14% of lead vehicle crashes where the driver was engaged in a task other than maintaining complete focus on operating the car.

This is twice as much as “daydreaming,” “passenger-related distractions,” “using in-vehicle controls,” or “external distractions.”

A lot of people pass out in fast food drive-thrus

I found a recent Reddit thread on r/AskLE (that’s “Ask Law Enforcement”) posted by a drive who wondered just often police officers encounter intoxicated drive-thru customers.

The most upvoted response from someone who appears to be on the job: “Not McDonalds. Jack in the Box is the #1 fast food place for passed out dudes on fentanyl in the drive through. Taco Bell is # 2.”

Others mentioned friends, bosses, or even their own experience passing out or getting a DUI in a drive-thru.

In any case, food-related distractions like this Taco Bell-involved crash show that even a late-night craving can create real danger on the road. No charges have been announced yet. The incident remains under investigation.