I will followup once I have a report from a mechanic. My car stalled while driving in heavy traffic; a pedestrian ran in front of me and I braked. I didn't hit anything or anyone, not even a pothole. My car stalled and all the dashlights went off. I put the car in park and tried to restart, but it would not start. My emergency lights wouldn't work and because I was on a busy thoroughfare in DC, my daughter and I were nearly rear ended by a bus. Even after we got out of the car, we watched other cars nearly hit it because it couldn't be pulled over and the emergency flashers wouldn't turn on. The mechanic said that the battery was fine. I had a regularly serviced oil change 2k miles ago, and everything was fine. The mechanic will replace the starter since the car will no longer start, but said that a bad starter would not cause the car to just die in heavy traffic. I called Volvo to report the issue, but they said they wouldn't take safety reports unless it was towed to a Volvo dealer. Of course, my car stalled out far away from a Volvo dealer, and roadside assistance only tows to the nearest mechanic.
NHTSA ODI 11468005