(WSVN) - O.J. Simpson, who became a household name in the 90s when he was on trial for a double murder, has died at the age of 76 after battling prostate cancer.
Simpson captivated the country when he rode down a Los Angeles interstate in one of the most-watched events in television history as many adults were glued to the screen when that happened.
But no one had their eye on the Bronco more than the photographer, whose video was being broadcasted live.
“And my first thought, certainly as an aerial photographer was, ‘Don’t mess this up. This is, this is an important shot to hang on to here,'” said photographer Jeff Mailes.
Mailes was one of the first to capture a live picture of Simpson as he took police on that slow speed chase in the infamous white Ford Bronco.
Initially, the call from police came out as a fugitive running from the law.
“And at that point, all of the news media helicopters in Los Angeles launched and were looking for that white Bronco,” Mailes said. “I came on at about 3 p.m. in the afternoon and we re-launched the helicopter, and we headed down to Orange County because there was speculation that O.J. had gone to Nicole’s graveside.”
“So, literally, every police officer and federal agent in California, and maybe even the country, were now looking for O.J. Simpson, as well as every reporter,” said Zoey Tur, helicopter pilot during the chase. “So I turned to my crew, we had our helicopter in downtown L.A. and I said that we’re going to go find him.”
Media and police were looking for Simpson on busy L.A. Roads.
Tur, along with her crew, were credited with being the first to find Simpson.
“We launched and flew every freeway in Los Angeles looking for a white Bronco,” he said. “We spotted a couple of them but it wasn’t his and then finally, in south Orange County, at the El Toro Y, we came upon the Bronco that was being followed, I believe at that point by one black and white car.”
Mailes worked for L.A. Television station K-Cal TV, and and it wasn’t long before his local picture went national.
“And as soon as we got the Bronco into our sites, our local station took it live and it was only moments later that we heard over the helicopter radio that ‘You guys keep your shot. CNN is gonna take you live’ and then that lasted for another hour and a half, all the way up to the Rockingham State,” he said.
Tur said that the live coverage changed the landscape for how news is reported.
“I think that news operations realized the power of the live coverage has and, especially with a news helicopter, so it changed the way television coverage happened,” Turr said. “The helicopter became a front line tool in breaking news.”
The live police pursuit of Simpson was watched by over 95 million people.
“I’ve got the door of the helicopter open. I’ve got my feet on the skids. I’m sitting on the floorboards, hand holding the camera and we’re, we’re, we’re going, ‘Hey, we’ve got, we’ve got OJ and the Bronco,” Mailes said.
With no cellphones at the time, people were glued to their radios and televisions as they watched the live coverage preempting regular programming, including the NBA Finals.
“It’s one of those events that you know exactly where you were when it happened,” Tur said. “The country stopped. The country ground to a halt to watch this surreal situation. People poured out to the freeways to watch this weird procession going by. Eighteen helicopters, two airplanes and dozens of sheriffs and highway patrol men all out to get O.J. Simpson.”
“So people were leaving their homes and their work and wherever they were, and they were racing to these overpasses and putting together makeshift banners and things like that,” Mailes said. “So it really began to morph into this celebration of ‘Go, O.J., go O.J.’ But that really when I saw that level of activity with people. That’s when it really struck me that, ‘Hey, this is something, something historical that’s happening right here.'”
Mailes has since retired but said that moment was one of the most significant of his career. As for Tur, she said she went from being somewhat well-known to being extremely well-known overnight.
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