On June 17th, 1994, the entire world stopped what they were doing to watch the infamous “O.J. Simpson Bronco chase” unfold live on national television. The chase lasted around 2 hours and unquestionably dominated cable for the evening. It even interrupted NBC’s coverage of Game 5 of the 1994 NBA Finals.
Around 95 million people tuned in to catch the chase live as it happened. It was such a must-see TV event, in fact, that Domino’s sold just as many pizzas during the chase as they did on Super Bowl Sunday earlier that year.
Two days prior, Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, were brutally murdered outside of Nicole’s home. Once O.J. Simpson became a suspect in the murders, he decided to flee via the Bronco, and thus, the slow-speed chase that we all remember occurred.
The chase itself was actually quite uneventful if you watch it back in its entirety all of these years later. It eventually ended peacefully with Simpson’s arrest at his home in Brentwood, California. The Bronco from the car chase currently sits at the Alcatraz East Crime Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
The ‘O.J. Simpson Police Chase’ Bronco Did Not Belong To Simpson
O.J. Simpson’s white Ford Bronco was a key piece of evidence in his murder trial. But it was not the Bronco from the chase that currently sits at the Alcatraz East Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
That Bronco was owned by former NFL player Al Cowlings — Simpson’s friend and driver of the vehicle during the chase. According to Cowlings, Simpson forced him into his vehicle and threatened him with a gun, demanding to be taken to Nicole’s grave.
Both Cowlings and Simpson owned the exact same type of Bronco, including make, model, and color. Simpson’s Bronco was found outside of his home in 1994 the night of the murders, with blood inside, and was seized as evidence for the case.
Mike Gilbert, O.J. Simpson’s former manager, held on to the Bronco from the chase for years. He even tried to sell the vehicle on an episode of Pawn Stars before finally closing a deal with the museum that it calls home today.