# 1999 OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
> NHTSA complaint `783464` · 2010-04-23 · General Motors, LLC
## Severity
- **Deaths:** 0
- **Injured:** 0
- **Fire:** Yes
- **Crash:** Yes
- **Police report:** Yes
- **Medical attention:** No
- **Vehicle towed:** No
## Vehicle
- **Make:** OLDSMOBILE
- **Model:** SILHOUETTE
- **Year:** 1999
- **Manufacturer:** General Motors, LLC
- **Component:** VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
- **Miles at failure:** 100,000
- **Speed:** 70 mph
## Narrative
I AM IN ARMY & WHILE DRIVING TO WORK ONE MORNING AT 5:30 AM MY VAN SLOWLY STARTED ACCELERATING THE MORE I PRESSED THE BRAKE THE FASTER THE VAN WENT, BY THE TIME I REACHED THE STREET THE VAN WAS UP TO 50 MPH I WAS AFRAID SO I CALL MY HUSBAND, TOLD HIM THE SITUATION & THE STREET I WAS TRAVELING, HE WAS ON THE WAY. BY THEN I WAS UP TO 60-65 MPH, I CALLED 911 STATED THE SITUATION, ASKING FOR HELP & TO HAVE SOMEONE ON THE PHONE JUST IN CASE. I ALMOST HIT A BUS, LOOKING AHEAD A FEW BLOCKS I SAW BACK-TO-BACK TRAFFIC STARTING TO BUILD-UP, I DID NOT WANT TO HURT MYSELF OR ANYONE ELSE, THEN GOING 65-70 MPH I LOOKED OVER AND SAW A PARK I TURNED THE VAN INTO THE PARK & TO STOP IT I DECIDED TO CRASH THE VAN INTO A TREE. I TURNED TOWARD THE TREE AND JUMPED OUT; THE VAN CRUSHED INTO THE SIDE OF THE TREE & CONTINUED TO KEEP GOING. I RAN AFTER IT AS I SAW THE VAN JUMP THE CURB AND GOING 70MPH TOWARDS THE ROW OF HOMES ACROSS THE STREET CRUSHED INTO A TREE HEAD ON. THE VAN ENGINE AFTER ALL THAT CONTINUED TO ROAR AS IF TRYING TO KEEP GOING. I FLAGGED DOWN A VAN AND RECALLED THE POLICE TO LET THEM KNOW WHERE THE VAN HAD STOPPED. WHEN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT CAME & TURNED THE VAN OFF I WAS TOLD THE VAN HAD BEEN ON FIRE IT WAS TRYING TO STOP ITSELF BUT WAS BEING OVER POWERED, THE TOW GUY CAME & TOWED THE VAN AWAY. THIS IS A BLESSING KNOW ONE WAS HURT, BUT SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS, & FOR THE AUTO COMPANY NOT TO INVESTIGATE IS A TRAGEDY. WHAT ARE THEY SAYING NUMEROUS PEOPLE WILL HAVE TO DIE,
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*Source: [NHTSA ODI](https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/) · AI Analytics · CC0 1.0*