NHTSA Complaint #11019053 — 2002 VOLVO S60

I WAS INVOLVED IN A CAR ACCIDENT IN BRONX, NY ON 8/16/2017 THAT CAUSED SEVERE DAMAGE TO MY 2002 VOLVO S60. THANKFULLY, I WAS THE ONLY ONE IN MY CAR. I HAD JUST LEFT MY LAST DESTINATION, MOVING SLOWLY AND DRIVING STRAIGHT FOR A SHORT BLOCK OR SO, WHEN MY 2002 VOLVO S60, WITH AN ODOMETER READING OF 45,000 MILES, BEGAN TO ACCELERATE OUT OF NOWHERE AND RACE - ALL ON ITS OWN. I TRIED BRAKING (FOOT AND HAND) BUT IT WAS TOO SUDDEN AND NEITHER COULD SLOW IT DOWN. THE CAR ACCELERATED OUT OF MY CONTROL, JUMPED THE SIDEWALK AND PLOWED THROUGH A FENCE BEFORE COMING TO A STOP. I'M STILL SHAKEN, THINKING OF WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED, BUT THANKFULLY THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE INVOLVED AND NO ONE WAS IN FRONT OF ME OR WALKING BY. WHILE THIS IS SHOCKING AND SURPRISING TO ME, I BELIEVE THIS IS A KNOWN SAFETY MALFUNCTION ON CERTAIN MODELS OF VOLVO CARS. I HAVE READ THAT OTHER DRIVER'S HAVE COMPLAINED TO THE COMPANY ABOUT A RACING/SLIPPING TRANSMISSION BEFORE, WHICH SUGGESTS THAT VOLVO HAS BEEN AWARE OF THIS.FOR SOME TIME. THERE ARE SO MANY SITUATIONS IN WHICH THIS TYPE OF MALFUNCTION CAN EASILY BE FATAL SO I AM TREATING IT AS AN IMPENDING DISASTER FOR OTHERS THAT NEEDS TO BE ACTED ON URGENTLY. I AM SEEKING YOUR ASSISTANCE TO INVESTIGATING THIS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE SO THAT YOU MAY HAVE A CHANCE TO PRESERVE THE CAR FOR ADDED TESTING IF NECESSARY. I HAVE PROVIDED ALL THE PERTINENT INFORMATION THAT I POSSIBLY CAN.