Near the start of the movie, VD uses a board wedged against the pedal to keep the truck rolling with no one in it. Then it stops. VD must have siphoned out enough gas so it would go dry right at that point.
-------------------------
Reckless drivers are a bigger threat to you than all other criminals put together.
You have a point to an extent.
The bad guys were shooting the crap out of the front of the vehicle. That can't be all that healthy for the electrics and motor.
I assumed that all the shooting into the engine made it stop.
The neat trick was how the truck made a left hand turn at the start of its trip. I have no idea how that could be pulled of with no driver; there wasn't even something lame like a rope tied to the steering wheel to explain the turn.