At a Pollo Tropical restaurant in Homestead, South Florida, a customer in the drive-thru line saw a snake come out of the grass and head for the vehicle ahead, turning an ordinary fast-food stop into a startling one.
The unsettling moment is now drawing attention online.
What happened?
By the time Kyrin Salvary could try to warn the driver in front of him Monday, Storyful reported, what he believed was a python had already moved in from the grass and into the vehicle's engine area while he waited in the drive-thru.
Video shows the snake leaving the grassy edge of the lane, slipping under the stopped car and vanishing near the front end.
Afterward, he warned the driver, saying, "I was in the driver-thru line for Pollo Tropical when I saw a snake (crawl) from the grass towards the car in front of me."
He added, "It then proceeded to crawl into the engine and then into the car. … The snake ended up falling out again when the car started moving (after) I told the driver."
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Why does it matter?
As more land is paved over and fragmented by roads, parking lots, and commercial spaces, animals are often pushed into closer contact with people.
Restaurant landscaping, warm engine compartments, and stop-and-go traffic can all create accidental meeting points for wildlife and humans.
For drivers, a snake inside or underneath a car can quickly become a distraction and a safety hazard. For the animal, these encounters can lead to injury or death.
In Florida especially, where both native and invasive species move through dense human development, surprise run-ins like this are unfortunately part of a broader pattern, and Burmese pythons in particular have been a major invasive issue in the state, with Florida offering bounties for them.
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