Oh, but we didn't brek it, we just changed the compressor

A local mechanic just replaced compressor for ac on a 2003 Honda CRV - drove a block, turned the ac up a bit and car died. Seems to be related to acceleration. Start car in neutral, car ok. Put in gear, car stops. They say it’s not their fault, that some other sensor has just happened to die at same time. Should I believe them, or did they just connect something incorrectly?

The shop could be correct. There’s not enoug info known for any of us here to have a clue.
The first step should be getting the car scanned for codes.
Parts houses such as AutoZone, Checkers, etc. will do this for you free and it only takes a few minutes. Post any results backs for discussion.

The only things I can think of that may have caused this would be if a vacuum line were inadvertently knocked loose (not related to the A/C), a problem with the Idle Air valve, or the possibility of a compressor refrigerant overcharge.
The latter should not be relevant if the car does this with the A/C off.

Just curious, but they did flush the system, replace the drier, etc.?

Thx… generally I trust them. They did bring a can of some kind of volatile liquid to spray around and look for leaks (before they helped get it back to the shop). No obvious leaks.
Another mechanic sez they may have damaged the engine harness or the throttle position sensor, and if so, it would be their responsibility to fix. Since I barely got a block away, I assume the problem was related to something they did. Car ran fine except the air conditioner wasn’t working due to the compressor. Does this sound possible? In general, would they be responsible for fixing? I’m guessing the sensor may be less than a hundred, but if they mishandled the engine harness, I could imagine that being expensive.

I’m not sure if they flushed the system, and pretty sure they only replaced the compressor.