Martin Clatworthy , a vehicle data examiner and safety safety specialist for Volkswagen , the makers of Skoda , told the inquest that in the five seconds before the crash , the vehicle was travelling at 116 mph and the accelerator pedal was fully depressed . He added there was no braking recorded . Mr Clatworthy said ' There is no indication that there was any error or problem with any of the electronic systems of the car in the five seconds leading up to the collision . ' I find it really hard to believe the guy ' s car suffered several electrical and mechanical failures simultaneously to cause it to run away . Let ' s see , what all would have to fail to achieve this set of circumstances ? Some sort of throttle failure most likely pedal unit itself as data shows full throttle application Mechanical brake system loss of fluid , some kind of damage to master cylinder or linkage preventing brakes being applied Brake switch data shows no brakes applied , also would cancel cruise control Gear selector putting it in neutral should allow the car to coast Engine startstop button should shut off engineThe explanation involving the fewest points of failure is the ECM . It could account for all of the above conditions except for the brakes failing in order to meet the criteria described , the brakes would have to fail independantly and simultaneously , as they are a mechanical system with no input from the computer . As Car and Driver demonstrated after the Toyota unintended acceleration fiasco , t o d e a l w ithunintendedacceleration using the brakes will bring a runaway car to a stop . Both the brakes and the ECM failing simultaneously is an incredibly unlikely situation . Far more likely , in my opinion , is the guy ended his life intentionally and tried to make it look like an accident .