In-N-Out Employees Stop Allegedly Drunk Driver From Leaving Parking Lot in Viral Video

Employees at a Texas In-N-Out Burger are being called heroes after attempting to stop an allegedly drunk driver from leaving the parking lot.

A customer at the Katy, Texas location filmed the incident in a viral video that has receivedmore than 1.2 million views since it was posted to TikTok on December 29.

Joshua Kramer, who goes by @gemini_josh on TikTok, said the driver of a large black pickup truck was "wasted," as was their female passenger.

"Hey, you guys don't have to leave," Kramer said to the people inside the truck. "You can stay right here. You don't have to move, they can get around."

In the video, he showed the truck blocking the In-N-Out drive-thru and explained that the driver was "obviously under the influence of something" and was attempting to drive out of the parking lot.

Kramer then showed two In-N-Out employees standing in the parking lot attempting to keep the truck from leaving. One of the employees was on the phone while also telling the people not to leave.

"This In-N-Out lady over here, she's a hero," Kramer said. "She's trying to stop them."

In the video, Kramer then showed the two people driving around the parking lot in the truck.

"Now they're attempting to leave," the on-screen text read.

The driver then stopped the truck perpendicular to the drive-thru line and the female passenger hopped out. She walked over to the drive-thru and attempted to move the traffic cones to make space for the truck.

As the woman began moving one of the cones, an employee and another person began yelling at the woman.

"That's not a way out," one person said.

The female employee then approached the woman and told her she could not exit the parking lot that way. The woman jumped back into the truck and directed the driver toward the exit.

In another video posted by Kramer, he showed the truck once again blocking cars from entering the drive-thru before finally exiting the parking lot. The truck began driving without headlights and turned onto a busy intersection.

"I can't watch this," one employee said as the people in the parking lot watched the truck turn onto the street.

"He's gonna pull out right into traffic," Kramer said in the video. "Good God almighty. There he goes. It's terrifying."

The truck then pulled into the middle of the street as a car honked at him. In the comments, Kramer explained that the police were called as soon as the truck blocked the exit.

He said the In-N-Out employees were on the phone with 911 for "over 20 minutes" and that the police did not show up.

Approximately every 52 minutes a person dies from a drunk-driving accident in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Charges for drunk driving can result in driver's license revocation, jail time, and fines upwards of $10,000.

In the comments section of Kramer's video, people recounted how they lost loved ones to a drunk driver.

"As someone who almost died in a head on collision from a drunk driver driving directly in the complete opposite lane, thank you," a TikToker commented.

"As someone who lost her brother and brother-in-law to a drunk driver at Thanksgiving, thank y'all for trying to stop them. They have no excuse," another commenter wrote.

Others said calling the police on drunk drivers needs to be normalized.

"I called in a DUI like this once. Felt so guilty because he got arrested but have to remember I potentially saved a life," one viewer wrote.

"Normalize calling the police on intoxicated people trying to drive," a user commented.

Newsweek reached out to Joshua Kramer and In-N-Out for comment.