Tuesday’s episode of “The People v. O.J. Simpson” got so much right about the white Bronco chase that captivated the nation on June 17, 1994: how it took over television, froze L.A.’s infamous traffic, spiked pizza orders, and brought my friend Amanda Todd’s birthday party to a screeching halt.
Actually, the show kind of forgot about my friend’s party, and how the chase meant all the kids there watched TV instead of going in the pool, which meant your then-teenage and pudgy correspondent didn’t have to take his shirt off. (Thanks, O.J.!)
But otherwise, the show did a great job. How great? You can see for yourself in the above assemblage of chase-day footage. “The People v. O.J. Simpson” offers some insights that the news coverage of the day didn’t, including that the white Bronco that took Simpson all over Los Angeles wasn’t actually his Bronco — or the same white Bronco found parked outside Simpson’s house on the night of the murders, blood caked here and there.
One thing that strikes me about the video is one of the newscasters calling Simpson “Juice,” not yet accustomed to the idea that it’s questionable to use cute nicknames for people accused of double murders. It’s a nickname people used for Simpson all the time before the deaths of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman, but not so much since.
Where were you on June 17, 1994? Were you alive yet? Were you conceived during the chase? Or were you sitting in traffic? Were you driving a possibly suicidal O.J. around Los Angeles? (What’s up, A.C.)
Watch the video to re-live the Bronco chase with us, and share your memories of one of the most distracting moments in television history.