# 1997 MERCURY MOUNTAINEER — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
> NHTSA complaint `266709` · 2000-12-20 · Ford Motor Company
## Severity
- **Deaths:** 0
- **Injured:** 0
- **Fire:** No
- **Crash:** Yes
- **Police report:** Yes
- **Medical attention:** No
- **Vehicle towed:** No
## Vehicle
- **Make:** MERCURY
- **Model:** MOUNTAINEER
- **Year:** 1997
- **Manufacturer:** Ford Motor Company
- **Component:** VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
## Narrative
WHILE PARKING AT A RIGHT ANGLE ON A STEEP HILL OVERLOOKING A BUSY ROAD, THE CAR ALMOST AT A STANDSTILL, THE DRIVER'S FOOT ON THE BRAKE, THE CAR ENGINE SUDDENLY STARTED SCREAMING, THE GAS PEDAL DEPRESSED ON ITS OWN AND THE CAR SURGED FORWARD OVER A CONCRETE PARKING CURB AND MOWED DOWN A  TALL PALM TREE.  MY DAUGHTER-IN-LAW WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED IF NOT FOR HITTING THE TREE, AS SHE HAD ALREADY TAKEN OFF HER SEATBELT AND OPENED HER DOOR - WE WERE SO CLOSE TO A STANDSTILL.  THE TREE STOPPED THE CAR FROM GOING OVER A VERY STEEP HILL AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED ONTO TRAFFIC ON THE ROAD BELOW.  THE REPLACEMENT VALUE OF THE TREE IS NOT YET KNOWN.  I HAVE SINCE DISCOVERED VIA CHANNEL 4 TV IN UK, AND DATELINE NBC THAT THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE AND PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED, AS MY DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AND I WOULD HAVE BEEN IF NOT FOR THE PALM TREE.  I HAVE NOW HAD THE CRUISE CONTROL DISABLED ON THE VEHICLE SO THAT I CAN DRIVE IT, AS I CAN NOT ETHICALLY TRADE IT IN AND LET SOMEONE ELSE BUY IT WHEN I KNOW IT HAS A PROBLEM. I HOPE THAT BY REGISTERING THIS BRIEF COMPLAINT THAT IT WILL HELP YOU TO INFLUENCE FORD LINCOLN MERCURY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE FAULT RECALL THESE VEHICLES.  THANK YOU.  *AK
---
*Source: [NHTSA ODI](https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/) · AI Analytics · CC0 1.0*