Viewers around the world watched O.J. Simpson take police on a 90-minute, slow-speed car chase down the 405 freeway in Los Angeles 25 years ago on June 17, 1994.
Al Cowlings, Simpson’s best friend, drove the white Ford Bronco as police cars and helicopters followed him with the NFL star in tow. Police eventually arrested Simpson, who had been declared a fugitive, on charges of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman after a stand-off with police at his Brentwood home later that evening. (RELATED: 25 Years After Murder Trial, OJ Simpson Opens Up About His Current Life)
WATCH:
Most television networks carried the chase live on split-screen with Game 5 of the NBA finals, beginning at 6:45 p.m., and stayed with the journey through Los Angeles. Groups of people watched the coverage in bars and public venues throughout America.
More than 95 million people reportedly watched the event, which made it the highest-rated program of the year for basic cable, according to Nielsen numbers.
Simpson, nicknamed “Juice” because of the initials “O.J.,” which represented Orenthal James, would eventually be tried and acquitted of the murders, but would be found liable later in civil court.
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