Knowing Cowlings was listening to KNX-AM radio, sports announcer Pete Arbogast had an idea. He called John McKay, Simpson's former USC football coach, and connected him live to Simpson's cell phone. As both men wept, Simpson told McKay: 'OK, Coach, I won't do anything stupid. I promise.' Arbogast later said: 'There is no doubt in my mind that McKay stopped O.J. from killing himself in the back of that Bronco.' Detective Tom Lange, who had interviewed Simpson about the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman on June 13, called Simpson's cell phone repeatedly during the chase. He pleaded with Simpson to 'throw the gun out the window' for the sake of his mother and children. Simpson responded that he was 'the only one who deserved to get hurt.'

Los Angeles streets emptied. Drink orders stopped at bars as people gathered around television sets. Along the freeways, crowds formed on overpasses holding signs reading 'Go O.J.' and 'Save the Juice.' That spectacle outraged broadcaster Jim Hill, who was among those pleading publicly with his friend to surrender. At 8:00 pm, the Bronco pulled into Simpson's Brentwood estate. His son Jason ran out of the house. Simpson remained in the vehicle for 45 minutes before exiting at 8:50 pm. Police found $8,000 in cash, a change of clothing, a loaded pistol, a passport, family pictures, and a disguise kit with a fake goatee and mustache.

The criminal trial of O.J. Simpson spanned eight months, from January 24 to October 3, 1995. Simpson was represented by what the press called the 'Dream Team,' initially led by Robert Shapiro and later directed by Johnnie Cochran, including F. Lee Bailey, Alan Dershowitz, and Robert Kardashian. Prosecutors Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden presented extensive DNA evidence, but the defense argued that blood samples had been mishandled and the case tainted by LAPD misconduct. The jury acquitted Simpson on October 3, 1995. The verdict exposed deep racial divisions: polls showed most African Americans believed the verdict was justified, while most whites believed it represented jury nullification. The trial is often called the most publicized criminal proceeding in American history.

In 1997, a civil jury unanimously found Simpson responsible for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. The Goldman family was awarded $33.5 million in damages, though as of 2024 they had received only a small portion of that amount. The Bronco used in the chase is now displayed at the Alcatraz East Crime Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, alongside Ted Bundy's 1968 Volkswagen Beetle in an exhibit of infamous vehicles used in crime. The case transformed American attitudes toward domestic violence, celebrity justice, and the role of race in the legal system. Three jurors who spoke in 2017 said they would still vote to acquit, while one said he would now vote to convict.