20-Year-Old Bronco Chase

Interesting to read about this even 20 years later — and remember where I was, and how it altered the course of my life.

Like O.J. Simpson, I, too, was on a freeway the evening of June 17, 1994. The one I was on was in Ventura County. My husband and I were headed from our house in Simi Valley after our work day — mine at the court in L.A. — to a shopping mall in Thousand Oaks. As usual, the car radio was tuned to an all-news station. I have no memory of the purpose of the shopping trip. Generally, shopping was at the bottom of the list of things I love to do, particularly at the end of a long work week.

With news developing of Simpson’s apparent attempt to flee, instead of surrender to police, as had been pre-arranged, in connection with the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and her acquaintance Ron Goldman, my plans changed. Simpson was in white Ford Bronco identical to his own, which was owned by his fellow former football player Al “A.C.” Cowlings. Cowlings was behind the wheel.

Whatever my intended mission at the Thousand Oaks mall was, it was thwarted by this breaking news event. Once out of the car, I made for the furniture department of a mall anchor store so I could watch the coverage on a display TV.

Although this article is long, I did read all the way to the end. I don’t know what surprised me more. That the evidence police said they had gathered in the week since the June 12 murders that implicated Simpson, or how much on that list I had forgotten. It includes:

– A glove matching another bloody glove found at the scene.

– A bloody ski mask found in his house.

– A match of his blood type found at the slaying site.

– A possible murder weapon, a sharp-edged, military-style digging tool.

– Blood-soaked laundry found in Simpson’s washing machine.

NBC News reported last night that a DNA match had been made between Simpson and blood found at the slay scene.

Police also impounded Simpson’s Ford Bronco, too a pair of sneakers from his home and examined red blotched found on his driveway.

(I guess the rush to print accounts for the typos, etc., in this article.)