Let the jokes begin because this is one heck of a coincidence.
So, here’s the scoop: Ford, the well-known car manufacturer, issued a recall for tens of thousands of Bronco vehicles—about 44,652 Bronco Sport and Escape models, to be precise. The recall was announced due to a concern over potentially cracked fuel injectors, which could lead to a fire. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, this affects vehicles manufactured in 2022 and 2023.
But here’s where the story takes an uncanny turn. This recall happened on the very same day that O.J. Simpson, the former football star and actor, passed away at the age of 76 after battling cancer. Now, for those of you who might not be familiar, O.J. Simpson and the Ford Bronco share a significant piece of history together.
Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane to June 17th, 1994. On this day, O.J. Simpson led police on a low-speed chase in a white Ford Bronco through the streets of Los Angeles and onto the 405 Freeway before finally surrendering at his home. This event captivated the nation, with over 95 million people tuning in to watch. The chase was so big that it even overshadowed the 1994 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, which was minimized to a small box on the screen while the chase took center stage.
Flashback: Infamous OJ Simpson Ford Bronco police chase, June 17, 1994. pic.twitter.com/xhRqeXqdrW
— New York Post (@nypost) April 11, 2024
The connection between O.J. Simpson and the Ford Bronco became so ingrained in popular culture that Ford eventually discontinued the original Bronco line in 1996, partly due to the negative association with the murder case involving Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. However, in 2020, Ford brought back the Bronco with a new line of the vehicle.
I found this video on Twitter and remember this segment on TV.
No mention of OJ is complete without mentioning the time Peter Jennings got Baba Booey’d during the Bronco chase pic.twitter.com/uDlScslLq8
— Jordan (@SLCLunk) April 11, 2024
Look, we can’t do hard news every day, and this is funny.
