[Dirty Harry]

One time, when I started my car (sitting in the seat, tranny in neutral), the internal contacts in the starter solenoid welded or stuck together, and the engine began running and grinding the starter at the same time. Shutting off the key killed the engine, but did nothing to stop the starter from continuing to turn the engine over. I jumped out and opened the trunk to access the battery shut-off switch I had mounted in there. It was an old, used, solenoid that I had used, trying to cut expenses. The new solenoid has done fine for the last 25 years now, but that first one certainly caused quite a stir. I wonder if something like this could have happened in this instance...