diff --git a/CHANGES.txt b/CHANGES.txt
index e83bdeec..62af42d9 100644
--- a/CHANGES.txt
+++ b/CHANGES.txt
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ Changes for crate
 Unreleased
 ==========
 
+  - Testing: Fixed issue that caused the test layer to hang after it failed to
+   start a CrateDB instance in time.
+
 2017/05/18 0.19.3
 =================
 
diff --git a/src/crate/testing/layer.py b/src/crate/testing/layer.py
index 6173b3ea..994034da 100644
--- a/src/crate/testing/layer.py
+++ b/src/crate/testing/layer.py
@@ -347,6 +347,7 @@ def _wait_for(self, validator):
             if wait_time > 30:
                 for line in line_buf.lines:
                     log.error(line)
+                self.stop()
                 raise SystemError('Failed to start Crate instance in time.')
             else:
                 sys.stderr.write('.')