Allan Park (witness)

Allan Park was a limousine driver in Los Angeles, California, who is noted for his testimony in the O.J. Simpson murder case.

Grand jury testimony

Due to the nature of his job and his cell phone records, his testimony regarding the times of events was key for the prosecution.

10:30

Park had been dispatched by his limousine company to pick up O.J. Simpson at his Rockingham home and take him to the Los Angeles Airport for a late night flight to Chicago. He was due to pick up Simpson at 10:45, but arrived at O.J.'s Ashford gate 20-minutes early. He testified that at 10:30 he drove around to the Rockingham gate, decided he couldn't pull in there, and returned to the Ashford gate. Park testified there were no cars parked on the street at Rockingham.

10:40

At 10:40, he rang the bell at the gate several times, but got no answer.

10:50-10:55

Other than one upstairs light and a porch light, the house was dark. He made several phone calls to his boss between 10:50 and 10:55 in an attempt to locate Simpson. As he was talking, a white male came out of the backyard area and waved at him. Soon after, Park said a large black male wearing dark clothes came from an area near the driveway and quickly entered the front door of the house.

10:55-11:00

Some lights came on after he went inside. The time was between 10:55 and 11:00.

Thirty seconds later, Park hung up the phone and tried the gate bell again. This time, Simpson answered through the intercom and told Park he had overslept and just gotten out of the shower. At this time, the white male came over to the gate and opened it, allowing Park to pull into the driveway up to the front door, where he saw two duffel bags on the front walk and a third bag behind a Rolls Royce.

11:05-11:15

Within five minutes, O.J. came out of the house wearing a white, short sleeved collared shirt and jeans. Park began loading the bags on the front walk into the limo, and an additional garment bag into the trunk. Simpson himself loaded the bag behind the Rolls Royce into the trunk, as well as his golf bag which he retrieved from one of his vehicles. Simpson and the white male discussed a possible earthquake that just happened before he got into the limo and left.

At approximately 11:15, Park exited through the Rockingham gate. At this time, he testified there was a vehicle parked on the street. Several times during the trip Simpson commented that he was hot. He turned on the air-conditioning and rolled down the windows. Park did not know if Simpson was sweating. He also heard Simpson say he forgot something as he went through his bags.

11:35

They arrived at the airport around 11:35. There, Park retrieved a luggage cart and transferred the garment bag and golf clubs from the trunk to the cart. He walked with Simpson to the skycap to check in, at which time Simpson tipped him and shook his hand. Park did not notice any bandages.

Preliminary hearing testimony

Park's testimony was largely the same as his grand jury testimony. Some key differences were:
*He was now unsure whether the large person was male or female, black or white.
*He didn't mention any vehicles being parked on Rockingham as he left Simpson's home.Additionally, the description of Simpson's clothing when he emerged from the house differed from a taped conversation Park had with Robert Shapiro.

Criminal trial testimony

Park testified that he located Simpson's house by using the address numbers on the curb, and therefore there could not have been a vehicle parked on the street at Rockingham. However, since he was driving a fast enough to pass the gate originally, he could not positively say there was no vehicle there. He asserted there was a vehicle there when he left. Also, he identified the large person as black, but could not say whether the person was male or female.

The jury requested a transcript of Park's testimony prior to announcing their verdict. They reportedly dismissed his testimony based on his uncertainty regarding the vehicles parked outside the Rockingham gate.

After the trial

Several years after the trial Allan Park moved to Austin, Texas [ [http://www.topix.com/forum/chicago/T2SANIDG016I39DFV Copy of newspaper article about limousine drivers] ] .

External links

* [http://web2.airmail.net/marjo/ojs.htm Full testimony summaries]

References