unrestricted fuel…
newer diesels run away becuase an injection pump breaks in a certain way to allow unrestricted fuel.
OR
remembering that diesels run on about anything, including oil… a turbo fails allowing oil from inside the turbo cartridge into the compressor side of the turbo. The engine WILL run on its own oil until the oil supply is cut off. In a diesel there is no throttle plate like a gas car, rpm and power are controlled by the fuel and the fuel only. unlimited fuel such as oil pissing into the intake plumbing from a blown turbo = unlimited rpm.
Detroits are completely different in the way fuel is controlled and can fail in other ways that I dont think anyone here cares about so I’m not going to bother typing. But the above mentioned scenario applies to any and all diesel engines, including detroits…
Yeah Detroits can run away fairly easy when babies or body parts are sucked into the massive turbo. Those motors feed on flesh and blood, ask your grandpa.