A huge factor that no-one seems to have considered is panic.
Maybe the driver did have means to shut the car down, but even if he did you can't expect anyone to be calm and rational in the midst of a blind life saving panic. If "not crashing into anything" is occupying 100% of your attention then there's nothing left to that are not drilled into your muscle memory... Every driver uses the brakes and steering wheel almost as a matter of instinct when they drive but how many people put a car into neutral or turn the ignition off when they're driving along? No-one does!!
