O.J. Simpson Chase (17 June 1994) – Nostalgia Central

As with President Kennedy’s assassination or the moon landing, ask pretty much any American what they were doing when former American football star O J Simpson was driving down the highway on 17 June 1994, and they will be able to tell you.

Viewers and networks alike couldn’t believe what they were seeing when pictures began coming in of a white 1993 Ford Bronco driving down a Southern California freeway.

News choppers followed the carnival, as O J Simpson – who was implicated in the deaths of his former wife, Nicole Brown-Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman – tried pathetically to evade justice.

More than 90 million people tuned in, while others nearby who had heard about the event on the TV and radio got as close to the action as possible, cheering and jeering as if at a football match.

“The chase left us at a loss,” CNN’s Jim Moret told Entertainment Weekly. “All we could do was recount the streets that he was taking and the neighbourhoods he was travelling in. It was like a surreal traffic report.”

The SUV was being driven by Simpson’s friend Al Cowling, who was ordered to stop but instead slowed down to a rather boring 40 miles per hour.

At the same time, he called the police on his mobile phone to tell them that Simpson was suicidal and had a gun to his head.

The chase went on so long (more than two hours) that one helicopter had to land and refuel.

With dozens of law-enforcement vehicles in pursuit, Cowling asked permission to drive straight to Simpson’s home, which was granted, and so the Bronco got the most comprehensive police escort in history.

When the former footballer-turned film star arrived home at around 8.00 pm, a small army of cops was there to take him into custody – all captured on television.

Simpson was found to have been carrying a .357 Magnum, a passport, $8,000 in cash and a fake beard in the car