Now, three decades later, any time someone mentions the 1994 event, “I think of my kidneys,” she jokes.

Full House actress Andrea Barber awoke from surgery during O.J. Simpson’s Bronco chase: ‘What is happening right now?’

Now, three decades later, any time someone mentions the 1994 event, “I think of my kidneys,” she jokes.

By Kathleen Perricone

April 7, 2026 7:59 p.m. ET

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Andrea Barber in 2023; O.J. Simpson's white Bronco (driven by his friend Al Cowlings). Credit:

Jesse Grant/Getty; Peter Read Miller /Sports Illustrated via Getty

On June 17, 1994, an estimated 95 million Americans watched the police chase O.J. Simpson's white Bronco on live TV — including a very groggy Andrea Barber.

That day, the *Full House *actress had to undergo a medical procedure to remove two painful kidney stones. And just as she was coming out of anesthesia "the Bronco chase was happening," she recalled to co-star Jodie Sweetin on the latest episode of their rewatch podcast *How Rude, Tanneritos*.

"And so my parents, you know, had it on the radio," said Barber, who was 17 at the time. "People were watching it in the hospital, and so I just was like, 'what did I wake up to? Like, what is happening right now that O.J. Simpson's being chased down the freeway by cops?' That was a fever dream."

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Even now, three decades later, any time someone mentions the infamous 1994 event, "I think of my kidneys," Barber joked.

Others might think of the Kardashians.

The Bronco chase ended after two hours when Simpson surrendered to police and was subsequently charged with the fatal stabbings of his his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. For the criminal trial, he hired a legal "dream team" that included prominent defense attorney Robert Kardashian — whose ex-wife, Kris Jenner, coincidentally, had been good friends with Brown Simpson.

California Highway Patrol chasing O.J. Simpson's Bronco on the 91 freeway in Los Angeles.

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty

Kim Kardashian recalled the night "Uncle O.J." called the family home from jail, looking to speak to Jenner.

"I answered the phone," Kim recounted to David Letterman in 2020. "And I just remember them getting into it. So, you know, my mom was extremely vocal on her feelings… she believed that, you know, her friend was murdered by him. And that was really traumatizing for her."

During the "trial of the century," Jenner sat with the Brown family as her ex-husband defended the accused murderer, who was ultimately acquitted.

"So, we didn't really know what to believe or whose side to take as kids," confessed Kim, who was 13 at the time. "It kind of tore our family apart."

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Her father died from esophageal cancer in 2003, four years before the family found even greater fame on their E! reality show, *Keeping Up with the Kardashians**.*

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