My husbands van stalled while driving yes...

My husbands van stalled while driving yesterday. No strange noises, no smoke, no studdering. He said it was like he turned the key off while driving. Someone tried to steal it last year and I caught them in the act but not before they cracked the steering column which caused enough damage to break the speed and odometer. I was thinking this problem might be caused by loose ignition bolts but my husband says no because it still cranks. Is that true? If so, what else could it be?