Ford issued a recall for its 2022 and 2023 Bronco Sport and Escape SUVs, just one day before OJ Simpson - who infamously used a white 1993 model of the vehicle as a getaway car - died at the age of 76.
Simpson was long regarded as one of the greatest running backs in NFL history but his professional achievements were overshadowed by the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. The pair were found stabbed to death outside Brown's Los Angeles condo in 1994.
Simpson, who had a history of domestic violence, was quickly declared a person of interest in the case. He failed to turn himself into police and instead led law enforcement in a low speed pursuit in a white Ford Bronco, which a shocked nation watched on live television.
Half a million newer models of the same vehicle were first recalled in 2022 because of a faulty fuel injector that can crack and leak gasoline into the engine, according to Consumer Reports.
On Wednesday, Ford announced that it was recalling an additional 42,652 Broncos from 2022 and 2023 that reportedly have the same engineering flaw.
The car manufacturer told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it was aware of at least five fires and 14 warranty claims, but no injuries associated with the most recently recalled vehicles. The cars recalled in 2022 were connected to four possible injuries and 43 legal claims, according to Consumer Reports.
Simpson's flight from police, in a Bronco loaned to him by friend Al Cowlings, has become an iconic part of pop culture history. It was dramatized in the television series "American Crime Story: the People vs. OJ Simpson" and parodied in the 2004 film "Shrek 2."
After Simpson's death was announced, many people on social media joked that he would be escorted into the afterlife in a white Bronco or that the vehicle could be used as a hearse for his funeral.
