# 1988 MERCURY COUGAR — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:LINKAGES
> **FATAL** · NHTSA complaint `49530` · 1996-03-15 · Ford Motor Company
## Severity
- **Deaths:** 1
- **Injured:** 1
- **Fire:** No
- **Crash:** Yes
- **Police report:** No
- **Medical attention:** No
- **Vehicle towed:** No
## Vehicle
- **Make:** MERCURY
- **Model:** COUGAR
- **Year:** 1988
- **Manufacturer:** Ford Motor Company
- **Component:** VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:LINKAGES
## Narrative
VEHICLE EXPERIENCED UNEXPECTED AND UNINTENDED ACCELERATION FROM  APARK POSITION. INDEPENDENT ENGINEER IDENTIFIED THE PROBLEM AS A CRUISE CONTROL CABLE HOLDING THE THROTTLE OPENED, EA90-009.  *AJ
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*Source: [NHTSA ODI](https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/) · AI Analytics · CC0 1.0*