Waymo driverless car gets stuck in California Chick-fil-A drive-thru

(KTLA) – A Waymo driverless taxi caused a backup at a bustling fast food drive-thru in Santa Monica on Monday evening.

Videos shared with Nexstar's KTLA show the autonomous vehicle stalled out in the middle of the drive-thru entrance at Chick-fil-A, causing a longer-than-usual line for waiting customers.

The incident took place around 9:30 p.m. at a Chick-fil-A on Lincoln Blvd., according to Chris Kellogg, who was among those waiting for the self-driving vehicle to self-drive its way back onto the street. His videos showed Chick-fil-A workers standing around the stalled vehicle, which had its hazard lights on, before it backed up briefly and briskly, and then stopped again.

Kellogg said he waited in line for about a half-hour before being told the restaurant, which is drive-thru only, was closed.

Still a developing technology, Waymo driverless taxis have gotten turned around or confused on the roadway after first being deployed on city streets several years ago. But ending up at a fast food restaurant, let alone the drive-thru line, is an unusual detour.

It's unclear if anyone was inside the vehicle at the time or if the taxi was directed to the Chick-fil-A as part of a fare — or if it became sentient and required organic matter for fuel — but Waymo did confirm to KTLA that the vehicle got stuck and its "team" recovered it from the site.

A spokesperson said that the company, which is a subsidiary of Google's parent company, is "committed to continuously improving our service and making appropriate updates to prevent this from happening in the future."

KTLA reached out to Chick-fil-A's corporate office, and a spokesperson said the drive-thru was shut down for a short time to allow for the safe removal of the car. The restaurant's walk-up window remained open throughout that closure, they said.