Nearly 30 years ago, a 90-minute police chase started that would grip America and the entire world.
O.J. Simpson, whose death was announced today following a battle with cancer, was wanted by the LAPD suspected of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.
Two days after the fatal stabbings on June 14, 1994, O.J. led the police on a 90-minute-long low-speed car pursuit in his friend’s white Ford Bronco.
The infamous car chase saw driver Al Cowlings carry fugitive murder suspect O.J. Simpson down the 405 freeway in Low Angeles, California, as Americans were glued to their TV screens watching the standoff. The fugitive huddled in the back seat of his Cowlings’ Bronco with a gun to his head while the police, media and fans followed after him – like a parade on the freeway.
There were crowds on the overpasses, signs, cheers and fists punching the air as the pursuit unfolded before O.J. ultimately surrendered to police and he was arrested at his home in Brentwood, California, and taken to Los Angeles County Jail.
After the white Ford Bronco came to a halt at Simpson´s estate, his lifelong friend and teammate, Al Cowlings, got out. Simpson´s lawyer arrived at the mansion nearly an hour later and the arrest came minutes later.
Before fleeing as he was about to be arrested, the former football great left a handwritten letter proclaiming his innocence, saying goodbye to friends and making ‘a last wish’ to ‘leave my children in peace’ – prompting him to be placed on suicide watch when he arrived at the jail.
‘I can´t express the fear I had that this matter would not end the way it did,’ said Simpson´s attorney, Robert Shapiro, who had worried earlier that the former football great would kill himself.
In 1995, the O.J. trial transfixed the entire world as he and his famous defense attorney, Robert Kardashian, fought the allegations and evidence, which included blood from the crime scene being found in his car and home and the fact that a pair of gloves worn by the killer did not fit the massive hands of O.J. He was acquitted in the criminal case.
The car chase kicked off on Friday June 17 – the day O.J. was scheduled to turn himself in at 11 am, but as the hours ticked by he failed to present himself to the Los Angeles Police Department.
LAPD grew impatient and headed to the home where O.J. was staying in the San Fernando valley. There, they discovered O.J. had slipped away with the help of his friend and teammate Cowlings, who ‘followed O.J. like a shadow,’ according to friends.
The duo jumped into Cowlings’ Bronco and headed south towards Orange County.
Just before 2pm, the LAPD hosted a news conference to officially announce that O.J. was a fugitive and hours later they were able to track him through phone calls he had made and locate the Ford Bronco.
Over the next two hours a massive police pursuit took place – with 20 police cars chasing O.J. and Cowlings as they made the 60-mile-trek back from Orange County to Brentwood.
Traffic came to a standstill all the way from Disneyland to Los Angeles and West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip was entirely deserted as residents scrambled to their TV screens to watch the livestream and TV hoppers charged around the freeway trying to capture the chase.
Patrol officers spotted O.J. on the 5 Freeway in Orange County in the back seat of the Bronco, sobbing and holding the barrel of a .357 magnum to his head.
The blue sky over Orange County was flooded with a parade of choppers.
Commuters gave up on their journeys to cheer Simpson on – and some even made signs that said ‘Go O.J!’
The nation watched in disbelief and frantic callers flooded radio station begging Simpson to turn himself in.
Gascon, the LAPD’s chief spokesman at the time said in an interview that ‘the size of the audience really hit home. My sister in Paris saw me on TV and [so did] my cousin in Shanghai.’
While inside the Bronco, O.J. answered a cellphone call from lead Detected Tom Lange, who was trying to coerce O.J. to chuck the gun out of the window.
‘O.J. O.J. This is Tom Lange from the Police Department. Remember me.’ Lange asked him to toss the gun, O.J. said ‘I am not going to hurt anybody but I need it for me.’
The fugitive begged ‘Just let me get to the house. I just need to get to my house where I lived with Nicole.’ Lange agreed.
