can this happen

[tractorboy]

A member of my family is 80 years old , has a 98 Malibu.
She had a single car accident. She hit a tree. She said she stepped on the gas and the car started to accelerate on it's own and would not stop.
Is that possible. We are unsure if she got the peddals mixed up / slight medical emergency or what ?
I was thinking about what it would take, either the throttle plate in the throttle body would have to move or the IAC would have to open way far.
Could that happen ? or what ?

[G-man422]

Accelorators get stuck, but its pretty rare.

[slls]

Brake will over come throttle, try it, full brake, full throttle. Not for long will overheat tranny.

[tractorboy]

Brake will over come throttle, try it, full brake, full throttle. Not for long will overheat tranny

I know I tried it with my Impala today to try and figure out what went wrong. Don't forget this is an 80 year old , not you or me. She said the car started to accelerate on it's own. I saw the car at the tow lot. It hit a tree and looks like a 30 - 40 mph impact. Air bage deployed etc. This is on a 25mph street and she drives the limit. I think if the IAC opens it is just like the throttle plate opening , so would the MAF detect more air and call for more fuel causing the car to accelerate ? does the Malibu have any device that cuts the engine on impact?

[porrsher]

Do you think she might have turned or pressed the "resume" button on the cruise control, that will also cause it to accelerate to the last speed it was set on on the most recent start up and usuage.

[johnschmitt]

I'm not sure if a stuck iac would be a big enough hole to do that. It can spin the engine up at idle but I don't think there'd be enough torque to move the car that fast. The brake pedal should have cut the cruise if it was that.

I'm stumped. The malibu does have an impact-sensitive switch that cuts the fuel pump though, tractorboy.