1993 DL Failure

I had been driving my '93 Summit (1.5L) DL for about 75 miles without any hint of a problem, when, at about 60MPH I hear an out of place metallic sound from beneath the cabin and the gas pedal stops providing acceleration. The engine remained running, but I could keep the speed up -- I had to coast to the shoulder and turn the car off. When I tried to restart it, the motor cranked but wouldn't actually start. I've talked to a few people and I have heard widely differing hypotheses ranging from belt failure to a fuel system problem to a transmission issue. It's in the shop right now and I am sick with worry -- I'm trying to get some ideas as to what might have happened to prepare myself for when they call me. It's a manual transmission with about 136,000 miles.

throttle cable broke?