Could be a number of different things, but most likely something happened with the cable housing. Check to see if there are any kinks or bends in the housing, instead of a rounded arc. This causes the cable to not move freely within the housing, resulting in what you described above. Simlarly, see if the housing got twisted or routed in some funky way, this can happen near the front end of the bike.

If its not either of these, it could be that the inside of the housing is dirty or corroded, causing the cable to not move freely, and it could be that you just didn't notice it until after the "crash" . If there is corrosion, replace both the cable and the housing.