Yikes! No brake booster / other nasty issues!

[Zerohour3k]

Okay, I don't usually resort to the "HELP!" type of post, but I was in for one hell of a scare this morning...

I woke up late for work, and in typical Jersey fashion, drove 95 mph down the Parkway until I got to my exit. No problems, brakes worked fine, etc. As I'm sitting in traffic on the exit ramp, I notice that I'm creeping up on the guy in front of me a bit *too* fast, especially since I'm hitting my brakes! After romping on the pedal pretty damn hard (so that I stopped... slowly..), I realized that my brake booster has either broken, or is no longer getting any vacuum.

This was all confirmed when I got to work, mashed the brake to get into my parking spot.. turned the car key off, and.... nothing. Engine keeps going until I hit "ye olde lever". All the lines seem to be in good condition, and the brake booster worked like new, no more than an hour ago. Is this a vacuum pump problem, or can a brake booster actually fail this quickly, causing me to lose the engine-off ability, as well?

Most importantly... aside from the obvious braking issues (manual brakes, ugh!), is it safe to drive the car? A failed vacuum pump / check valve won't damage the engine, right..? Right..?

...this is just what I needed..