Ok, you sound like you really know what we are talking about. Here is what went on.
We have one of those super-steep mountain driveways you could launch space-shuttles off of. There is a bump in the driveway closer to the top - there to help divert some of the water when we have torrential downpours (every day in the summer). Normally, going down, I stay very gently on the brake because of the steep slope, but not jamming it. Just easing it down.
Here is what happened this time. The donut spare was rear passenger side. I backed out of my parking spot, like I normally do - no problem stopping there. I am still on the flat parking area at the top of the driveway. I turn her to point nose down the driveway. I let off the brakes slowly - she starts to roll before my foot is fully up. At that point I am already feeling something odd. She starts to roll and accelerate. I tap the brakes - nothing. I push all the way down (she had hit that little ridge and is now accelerating fast, is halfway down the driveway, and there is another car coming down the road) - nothing. Now, I know what the pedal feels like when it's a cut line, a leak, a bubble - it's not like that. The pedal feels COMPLETELY NORMAL. In my brain, I know the brake SHOULD be engaged, but it's not. Screw it, I have to handle this thing.
We are flying down the driveway and I am trying to figure out how to crank her to keep from hitting that other car and to keep from flying across the two lanes into the creek (there is not much of a shoulder there). I come barreling to the bottom of the driveway at Mach 2 and crank her as hard as I can to the right. And that's when I clip the mailbox and slice off my passenger side mirror. But she slows down - and I can finally spare a hand to grab the emergency brake (I couldn't before because, at that speed, going downhill, I had trouble controlling the car and needed both hands on the wheel to make that turn). I am not on top of the other car, I am not in the creek - big breaths. I let off the emergency brake very gently and let her roll. I tap the brake pedal and it works. I am out of English and Russian cusswords by that point, so I just put the blinkers on and limp to the mechanic at minimum speed.
