1997 Chevy Tahoe

My niece has a 1997 Chevy Tahoe. She was
coming up to the stop sign and stepping on
the brake today. When she did all of a
sudden all of her gauges shifted to the right
and smoke started coming from either the
steering column or under the dash. The  truck
died and she tried to start it when she did the  
keys burned her fingers. She called a tow
truck and had it towed home. She is afraid to
start it again. And the speedometer says she
is currently driving 50 miles an hour, but the
truck is turned off. Any suggestions besides
taking it to an auto shop, would be great. Of
course we will have to take it to an auto shop
if no one here can help answer the problem