As I may have mentioned, the single most important event in the evolution of modern American trash culture over the last third of a century was the O.J. Simpson white Bronco chase on June 17, 1994. It began at the Encino, CA home of the Kardashians (yes, those Kardashians) and ended in O.J.’s driveway in Brentwood. It was followed by 22 helicopters and 95 million TV viewers; it jet-propelled a remarkable number of careers as celebrities.
One participant, however, has kept his mouth shut: the white Bronco’s driver, Al Cowlings, O.J.’s best friend from third grade, high school football, the USC Trojans, and the Buffalo Bills of the NFL.
A.C., now age 79, hasn’t talked.
This doesn’t mean he never thought about cashing in. Back in the 1990s, Cowlings’ agent circulated a book proposal. But then A.C. withdrew it and has stayed silent ever since about what O.J. (who died in 2024) might have told him during their ride about the deaths of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman.
A.C. was arrested along with O.J., and charged with aiding a fugitive. But then the charge was dropped a few months later for lack of evidence.
I’d say there was evidence that A.C. was driving O.J.’s white Bronco — D.A. Gil Garcetti could have called 95 million witnesses.
But would all 12 jurors vote to convict him for helping his best friend make a run for the Mexican border?
It sounds like Garcetti put Christopher Darden on the Cowlings case to get A.C. to roll over on O.J.. But they eventually realized that wasn’t going to happen. From the Washington Post on November 8, 1994:
Garcetti said Deputy District Attorney Christopher Darden, who led the Cowlings investigation, will move to the Simpson prosecution team, a transfer immediately criticized by Simpson’s attorneys. Since the Cowlings inquiry began, they had maintained the prosecutor’s office investigated Cowlings only to gain more information about Simpson. …
Simpson attorney Johnnie L. Cochran called the Cowlings investigation a “charade.” He said Darden’s addition to the prosecution was “for the wrong reasons” and appeared to be a reaction to the recent selection of a predominantly African American jury.
Race has been an issue throughout this trial because Simpson is black and the victims were white. Darden would be the first African American on the prosecution’s team.
“Now we see {Darden} pop over to this case,” Cochran said. “So. Gee. What does that seem like to you? ... It seems like we were right all along. All along he was planning on working on the O.J. Simpson case. Now why is that? After we have eight African Americans, I don’t know.”
That reminds me: when I was at UCLA in 1981, I knew a fellow who’d been an All-American football player for UCLA. When the topic of USC’s 22-21 victory over UCLA came up, he explained why USC was better than UCLA: “Because the Trojan players know that if they win, they will be rewarded. They know they … will … be … rewarded.”
Speaking of being rewarded, there’s now …
Paywall here.
