June 17
GO OJ, GO! DAY
O.J. Simpson, charged with the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, could not be located and became a fugitive from justice.
At about 6:45 p.m. on this day in 1994, police spotted a white Ford Bronco belonging to Simpson’s friend Al Cowlings on a Los Angeles freeway. Simpson was a passenger in the Bronco and had a gun (according to Cowlings who talked to police by phone from the Bronco). Cowlings and Simpson led the highway patrol on a 60-mile, low-speed pursuit through L.A.
Many people were sobbing, others were shouting, “Go O.J., go!” There was an enormous amount of affection for the former pro football star, even though he had been charged with two brutal murders.
It was around 8:00 p.m. when the Bronco finally pulled into the driveway at Simpson’s Brentwood mansion, followed by a phalanx of patrol cars. Negotiations with police lasted less than an hour and Simpson surrendered, was arrested and taken to jail. All of the above was covered by TV cameras from helicopters and seen by a world-wide television audience. It was a gripping, if not excruciatingly slow, show.
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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