Brake lights

I have a 1990 Ford Aerostar. It has 127,000 miles. We recently broke down on the side of the road. When my husband went to get it the next day, he noticed while following behind the van, the brake lights weren't working. He checked all the fuses and changed both switches. They still are not working. The mechanic that worked on the van the week before, asked if we had cruise control. We do. He asked if it was working. We said no, it stopped working about 3 months ago. It came back in 1 time but hasn't worked since. The mechanic told us the brakes were in connection with the brake lights not working. He told us to replace the switches, but, that didn't work.