SATURDAY 30 AUGUST
1. 3:15-30 P.M. ARRIVAL AT BOURGET AIRFIELD, PARIS
Dodi and Diana arrive aboard Fayed's private jet. "They come from Olbia, near the posh resort coast of northern Sardinia, where they have been vacationing on the Fayed family yacht." (USA Today, Friday 5 Sept., p. 8A)
2. 3:45 P.M.? ARRIVAL AT FAYED'S APARTMENT?
"They go to Fayed's apartment on the Rue Arsene-Houssaye, a small but fashionable street near the Arc de Triomphe. About an hour later, they drive to the Ritz, on the Place Vendome." (USA Today, Friday 5 Sept., p. 8A)
3. 4:30 P.M. ? ARRIVAL AT THE RITZ
"They relax in the Imperial Suite, which reportedly costs $2,000 a night. Diana telephones columnist Richard Kay, of London's Daily Mail, one of her closest friends among the press that has covered her during her 18 years in private life. She tells him she was planning to 'radically' change her life by giving up her public role, though she also tells him she wants to open a number of hospices. Fayed calls his cousin and says he hopes he and Diana will marry by the end of the year." (USA Today, Friday 5 Sept., p. 8A)
4. 5:30 P.M. PAPARAZZI CAMP OUT IN FRONT OF THE RITZ
5. 6:00 P.M. or 7:00 P.M.? DODI AND DIANA LEAVE THE RITZ Henri Paul returns home believing his day is done.
The French magazine Voici (No. 514, Sept. 15, p. 14) reports that Dodi and Diana left the Ritz at 18 h 00 (6:00 p.m.), but USA Today says they left at 7:00 p.m.
"At 7 p.m., the two go out the back door of the Ritz and head back to Fayed's apartment. They plan to go out to dinner, perhaps to Benoit, a long established bistro off the Rue de Rivoli (whose manager denies the pair were expected). With the couple gone from the Ritz for the evening, Paul leaves." (USA Today, Friday 5 Sept., p. 8A)
6. 8:00 P.M. THE COUPLE TRY TO SHOP ON THE CHAMPS-ELYSEES
"At about 8 p.m., the two are driven by Dodi's driver a short distance to Sephero, a large perfume shop on the tourist-choked Champs Elysees. But photographers swarm the car like highwaymen around a stagecoach. Diana and Fayed don't even get out of the car. Instead, the two change for dinner back at the apartment." (USA Today, Friday 5 Sept., p. 8A)
7. 8:30 P.M. RETURN TO DODI'S APARTMENT?
8. 9:45 THE PRINCESS AND DODI DECIDE TO RETURN TO THE RITZ
They leave Dodi's house on the rue Arsene-Houssaye. "Diana is wearing white pants, a black bodysuit, black jacket and sandals. They head back to the controlled surroundings of the Ritz, arriving about 10 p.m., unexpectedly and with 30 photographers on their heels." (USA Today, Friday 5 Sept., p. 8A)
9. The hotel calls back Henri Paul.
10. 9:50 DODI AND DIANA ARRIVE AT THE RITZ
Videotape shows Diana entering the door "They dined in hard-won privacy at a table for two in the sitting room of the Imperial Suite, with its high ceiling, walls decorated with painted bas-reliefs and windows overlooking the Place Vendome. The menu is from the Ritz's two-star restaurant downstairs, L'Espadon. The first course is scrambled eggs with mushrooms and asparagus. The second course is sole with vegetables tempura for Diana, turbot (fish) for Fayed." (USA Today, Friday 5 Sept., p. 8A).
11. 10:07 HENRI PAUL ARRIVES AT THE RITZ
Videos show him parking his Austin Cooper with no sign of drunkenness.
Regarding Henri Paul: " 'He had boozed a little, and we knew that,' the Ritz chauffeur, who was not identified, said on Europe 1 Radio." (Elaine Ganley, AP, Thurs. 4 Sept.)
12. 11:00 DODI ANSWERS A CALL ON HIS PORTABLE TELEPHONE
According to a servant at the Ritz: "Ceux qui ont eu acces au salon prive du Ritz ou l'on a servi Di et Dodi ont remarque que, vers 23 h, M. Al Fayed a recu un appel telephonique sur son portable. Il a immediatement demande d'accelerer la fin du diner. Il paraissait tres contraire et excede."
["Those who had access to the private room of the Ritz where they served Di and Dodi remarked that, around 11:00, Mr. Al Fayed received a telephone call on his portable. He immediately asked to speed up the end of the meal. He appeared very cross and exasperated." (Voici, 15 Sept., p. 15)
"With dinner over, the decision is made to use Fayed's Mercedes 600 and a Range Rover, the two cars Diana and Fayed had been using all day, as decoy vehicles. . . .
"With most paparazzi stationed near the Range Rover at the hotel's Place Vendome entrance, fewer lurk near the anonymous service entrance off the 10-foot-wide Rue Cambon.
" ' There were several motorbikes there in the evening,' says MARIANNE CHEVRIE, who lives nearby and walked home along the Rue Cambon, passing the entrance around 11:00 p.m."
(USA Today, Friday 5 Sept., p. 9A).
13. 12:19 A.M. HENRI PAUL BRIEFS DODI AND DIANA
Famous last video shows Dodi with arm around Diana as they listen to M. Paul. They do not seem to notice that he is drunk.
"At about 12:10 A.M. [sic], Diana and Rees-Jones appear at the small door to meet Paul, who has pulled the black Mercedes within a foot of the curb. The photographers are waiting." (USA Today, Friday 5 Sept., p. 9A).
14. 12:20 A.M. DEPARTURE FROM RITZ
"Diana immediately covers her face. A minute later, the casually dressed Fayed comes out of the same door.
"Rees-Jones escorts Diana to the car. She sits on the rear passenger side. Fayed joins her on the rear driver's side.
"Paul has the engine running. Some say he was giddy with the photographers. Others claim he openly boasted, 'Tonight you won't catch us.'
" 'He was laughing a lot. Many said he wasn't his usual self,' says Jacques Langevin of the Sygma agency, one of the photographers under investigation for involuntary manslaughter."
(USA Today, Friday 5 Sept., p. 9A).
"In an interview, [photographer Jacques Langevin] recalled seeing Paul, who police say was drunk, emerge from the Ritz after a decoy van drove off.
" 'He was laughing a lot. A lot of photographers said he wasn't his usual self,' Langevin said.
"When Diana emerged from the hotel, Langevin said he took four or five pictures before she got got into a black Mercedes.
" 'The car took off very fast. My car was up the road. There was no way mine could keep up, so I knew it was finished for me,' Langevin said." (USA Today, from wire reports, Thurs. 4 Sept., p. 2A)
" . . . And the Times of London reports today that the driver had taunted photographers by saying, 'Catch me if you can,' before speeding away from the Ritz hotel where Diana and her friend, Dodi Fayed, had dined." (Fred Coleman and Jack Kelley, USA Today, Tues. 2 Sept, p.1A)
"Des photographes reperent, rue Cambon, la Mercedes 280 S, qui demarre a 0 h 20 avec ses quatre occupants. Les paparazzi la prenent en chasse, rejoints par des confreres, prevenus par portable. En tout, ils sont une douzaine a suivre la limousine noire. A moto and en voiture."
["Some photographers spotted, on the rue Cambon, the Mercedes 280 S, which left at 12:20 with its four occupants. The paparazzi gave chase, rejoined by cohorts called on the portable. In the end, there were a dozen following the black limousine. By motorcycle and by car."]
15. 12:21 A.M.
MOHAMMED RABOUILLE, a cab driver, saw the Mercedes drive by on the Place de la Concorde.
" 'There was a limousine, a Mercedes with several motorcycles behind and near it. I thought it was an escort, but there were too many (motorcycles) for one car.' He did not count the number.
"Nor did it seems to Rabouille that the Mercedes was speeding. 'It was the last Saturday before the end of the (summer) holidays, so the traffic was pretty thin.' " (USA Today, Friday 5 Sept, p. 9A)
If the couple were headed back to Dodi's apartment on the rue Arsene-Housaye, the most direct route from the place de la Concorde would have been to go northwest along the Champs-Elysee toward the Arc de Triomphe. Instead, the driver turned onto the Rue de Rivoli, which follows the Seine in a southwesterly direction toward the Place de l'Alma.
Why?
L'Express speculates that the driver was drunk, or thought he could lose the photographers by driving quickly down the Rivoli.
"Est-ce cet etat de legere euphorie qui decide M. Paul a distancer a tout prix les photographes qui suivent la voiture des la rue de Rivoli? En tout cas, a la Concorde, le feu a peine passe au vert, il demarre en trombe. Il sait en effet qu'il a devant lui la longue ligne droite de la voie express qui longe la Seine et qu'il pourra faire parler la puissance de la Mercedes. C'est sans doute pour cette raison qu'il a choisi cet itineraire pour conduire le couple a l'apartment de Dodi, rue Arsene-Houssaye, en haute des Champs Elysees." (L'Express, 9 Oct, p. 41)
16. 12:22 SPEEDING TOWARD THE TUNNEL OF DEATH
"Il lance alors la lourde voiture, qui prend de plus en plus vitesse. Devant lui, THIERRY H., qui vent de la Bastille et se dirige vers le XVIIe arrondisement au volant de sa 205 gris fonce. A hauteur du tunnel Alexandre-III, ce dernier sursaute:
'J'ai ete double a une vitesse incroyable par une grosse limousine noire, puis par plusieurs motos (. . .). A la sortie du tunnel, j'ai vu la Mercedes qui continuait a rouler sur la voie de gauche, tanguait et avait du mal a maitenir sa trajectorie.'
"Thierry H. perd la Mercedes de vue au moment ou il quitte la voie express, juste avant le tunnel de l'Alma, dans lequel la voiture de Diana s'engouffre a pleine vitesse." (L'Express, 9 Oct., p. 41)
17. 12:23 to 12:25 A.M. THE CRASH
"The six-inch-thick dossier compiled by the Prefecture of Police in Paris is labeled simply 'Accident Mortel de la Circulation Date 31/8/97 Heure 00 h 30' . . . .
"The file begins at 12:23 a.m., in the Place de l'Alma Tunnel . . ." (Rod Nordland, Newsweek, 20 Oct., p. 34)
The French police have gathered statements from "17 witnesses in and immediately outside the tunnel at the time of the accident. Eight of the 10 who were closest said they heard two crashes . . ." (Rod Nordland, Newsweek, 20 Oct., p. 35)
18. THE SECOND CAR
"C'est a ce moment-la que DAVID L. et son amie, Marie-Agnes -- accompagnee de ses parents -- la remarquent. Il se promenent sur le petit terre-plein qui surplombe l'entree du tunnel. David L. raconte:
'La Mercedes roulait tres vite sur la voie de gauche. Elle ne tanguait pas. Je me suis retourne vers les gens qui m'accompagnaient pour leur faire remarquer qu'il etait fou de rouler a cette vitesse (. . .). J'ai pense: "Quel sagouin!" Une autre voiture circulait a droite; elle a ete depasse par la Mercedes. Mes beaux-parents pensent qu'une collision s'est produite au moment de ce depassement. Et puis, nous avons entendu un gros choc.'
"Son amie, MARIE-AGNES C., approuve:
'J'ai le sentiment qu'un vehicule circulait sur la voie de droite et a bien ete depasse par la voiture qui aura l'accident. Je suis certaine que quelque chose circulait.' "
(L'Express, 9 Oct, p. 41)
"At least four eyewitnesses have described a slow-moving car driving ahead of the Mercedes in the right lane of the express road before it entered the tunnel at 12:25 a.m. on Aug. 31. Two off-duty chauffeurs standing near the tunnel entrance heard the roar of the motor as the Mercedes downshifted and accelerated. Directly in front of the speeding vehicle, they said, was a dark-colored sedan moving at normal speed. (The speed limit in the tunnel is 30 m.p.h.)" (Thomas Sancton, Time, 13 Oct., p. 52)
"C'est egalement un bruit, celui du moteur de la Mercedes, qui alerte deux chauffeurs de maitre attendant des clients a cote de leurs voitures, a la hauteur du 5, avenue Montaigne.
'Mon attention a ete attiree par le bruit d'un moteur a tres haute regime,' se souvient OLIVIER P. 'J'ai vu deux vehicules. Le premier roulait de facon a ralentir la Mercedes. C'etait une voiture de couleur sombre de type Ford Mondeo. La Mercedes collait cette voiture. Peut-etre a 150 kilometres a l'heure. Deriere la Mercedes, il y avait une moto. J'ai compris que le chauffeur retrogradait pour reprendre de la puissance. Dans ce cas-la, en tant que professionel, je peux dire que la voiture reagit en faisant un bond en avant violent. C'est ce qui a du se produire car j'ai entendu le crissement des pneus et le choc. Il me semble avoir vu des flashs avant l'entree du tunnel." ( L'Express, Oct. 9, pp. 41-42)
["Selon le temoignage d'un chauffeur de taxi, un flash s'est declenche au passage de la Mercedes, plade de l'Alma. Ce flash, bien connu des automobilistes parisiens, n'est que dissuasif. Il n'a pu eblouir le conducteur, puisqu'il est installe tout en haut d'un lampadaire." (Voici, 21 Sept., p. 13)]
"Lors d'une autre audition, quelques jours plus tard, ce meme temoin [Olivier P.] confirme la vitesse estimee de la Mercedes: 150 kilometres a l'heure. Il precise que la voiture precedant celle de Diana et Dodi 'etait de petite taille' et ne faisait aucune 'manoeuvre dangereuse pour empecher [la Mercedes] de passer.'
OLIVIER P. explique enfin: 'Mon attention a ete detournee pendant quelques secondes par mes clients, qui m'attendaient, et j'ai entendu le bruit de la collision.'
"Cette version des faits est pour l'essentiel confirmee par son collegue CLIFFORD G., qui precise:
'Je suis sur et certain qu'il y avait une voiture devant la Mercedes et qu'une moto de grosse cylindree suivait a 30 ou 40 metres.' (L'Express, 9 Oct., p. 42)
". . . the slow moving vehicle witnesses recalled may have been a gray Citroen BX, whose driver was questioned several hours after the accident. This young man reported hearing the squeal of brakes behind him as he drove west through the tunnel at a moderate pace. In his rearview mirror he saw a black Mercedes skidding toward him at high speed. He accelerated to avoid a rear-end collision and saw the Mercedes hit the central pillar, then spin into the opposite wall. According to this witness, whose car showed no accident damage, there was no other vehicle behind him and the Mercedes." (Time, Oct. 13, 1997, pp. 53-4)
"Le temoignage d'un automobiliste, qui precedait la voiture juste avant son accident, a ete examine : l'homme a declare avoir observe, dans son retroviseur, une moto zigzaguant devant la Mercedes pour la ralentir; mais cette declaration, emanant d'un temoin qui s'est manifeste plusieurs heures apres les faits et qui a manifeste une forte animosite a l'encontre des paparazzi, est jugee "peu fiable ". (Le Monde, 11 Sept.)
["The testimony of an auto driver, who preceded the car just before its accident, has been examined: the man claimed to have observed, in his rearview, a motorcycle zigzagging in front of the Mercedes to hold her back; but this declaration, coming from a witness who showed up several hours after the facts and who has shown a strong animosity against the paparazzi, is judged 'a bit feeble.' "] (Le Monde, 11 Sept.)
"La voiture conduite par Henri Paul s'engouffre alors dans le tunnel de l'Alma, ou circule deja une Citroen BX Leader gris clair. A son bord, MOHAMED M. and SOUAD M. Le couple roule a environ 80 kilometres a l'heure sur la file de droite. Ils seront le plus proches temoins directs de l'accident. (voir leur interview page ci-contre)." (L'Express, 9 Oct., p. 42)
J'AI VU LE CHAUFFEUR PARTIR EN AVANT
" Nous revenions du cinema, ou nous avions vu 'Une femme tres, tres, tres amoureuse,' du cote de la place de Clichy, et, pour rentrer, nous avons decide de passer devant la tour Eiffel . . ." SOUAD M., 27 ans, raconte a L'Express d'une voix douce cette soiree du 30 aout qui a fait d'elle le principal temoin de la mort de lady Di. MOHAMED M., son compagnon, est assis a ses cotes, dans leur appartement de la Seine-Saint-Denis. Il conduisait la BX grise dont elle etait passagere et qui, dans le tunnel de l'Alma, precedait immediatement la Mercedes conduite par M. Paul.
"Nous roulions plutot doucement," se souvient Mohamed, " a environ 80 kilometres a l'heure. On rentrait tranquillement en regardant Paris. L'autoradio etait allume et les fenetres etaient ouvertes. J'ai alors entendu en crissement de pneus qui a couvert la musique. J'ai jete un coup d'oeuil dans mon retroviseur gauche et j'ai vu la Mercedes arriver en crabe. Elle glissait de telle facon qu'elle formait un angle de 45 [degrees] avec la route. Ses phares eclairaient l'autre cote de la chaussee. La voiture s'est ensuite redressee et j'ai accelere pour eviter qu'elle ne me percute."
Souad, elle, a ete alertee par le bruit d'un coup de frein. "Je me suis retournee," confie-t-elle, " et j'ai vu la Mercedes arriver derriere nous en biais. Je distinguais le chauffeur grace aux lumieres du tunnel et j'ai vu la voiture percuter le pilier avant de se retrouver en sens inverse. Au moment du choc, j'ai vu le chauffeur partir en avant sur le volant. J'etais certaine alors que tous les occupants de la voiture etaient morts. J'ai fondu en larmes et mon ami est sorti a la hauteur du Trocadero."
"Nous ne pouvions rien faire," precise Mohamed. "Impossible de descendre a pied sous le tunnel; nous sommes donc alles marcher pour decompresser un peu, puis nous sommes rentres chez nous."
C'est par son frere, le lendemain en fin de matinee, que Souad apprend que l'accident dont elle a ete temoin a coute la vie a lady Di. "J'ai appele le commissariat de ma ville," raconte la jeune femme, "et, quelques minutes plus tard, les policiers de la brigade criminelle m'ont rappelee. Ils nous ont demande de venir jusqu'au Quai des Orfevres avec notre BX. Nous y sommes alles, le dimanche, peu apres 15 heures. Les enqueteurs nous ont entendus, puis ils sont descendus inspecter notre voiture; ils ont meme fouille l'interieur. Plus tard, le 12 septembre, nous avons ete convoques par le juge. Il voulait savoir si nous avions vu d'autres voitures derriere la Mercedes. Je me souviens d'avoir vu six ou sept voitures arriver immediatement apres l'accident, mais je ne distinguais les phares. J'etais choquee, en larmes, et je n'ai pas pu voir, alors, ce qui se passait exactement." (Laurent Chabrun, L'Express, 9 Oct., p. 43)
"Meanwhile a man and woman driving through the tunnel in the opposite, eastbound direction also reported seeing a dark car in front of the Mercedes. There was a sudden screech of brakes. The man heard a 'small' impact, then saw the Mercedes skid directly into a support pillar in the middle of the tunnel, leading him to think the car had sideswiped the other vehicle and lost control." (Time, Oct. 13, 1997, p. 52)
"BENOIT B., as he is identified in the dossier, was in a car driving on the other side of the tunnel. 'I heard the squeal of tires and then the sound of a minor impact,' Benoit says. 'I saw two vehicles, the first car was dark . . . I think the Mercedes was going so quickly it hit the other car and then lost control.' " (Rod Nordland, Newsweek, 20 Oct., p. 35)
"D'autres temoins importants, qui circulaient en sens inverse, ont assiste a l'accidente de l'autre cote de la chaussee. BENOIT B. et GAELLE L., a bord d'une Super 5 blanche, ont ainsi vecu les dernieres secondes avant l'accident -- un choc qu'ils ont vu entre les piliers du tunnel:
'J'ai entendu un crissement de pneus, puis le bruit d'un petit impact,' raconte BENOIT B. 'J'ai vu deux vehicles; le premier, de type berline, de couleur sombre, a accelere brutalement au moment ou la Mercedes a perdu le controle. Je l'ai vu glisser, heurter un pylone, envoyer des projections, puis faire un tete-a-queue. (. . .) Je pense que la Mercedes, qui roulait tres vite, a heurte la berline et a ensuite perdu le controle. J'ai alors vu une Vespa ou une moto depasser la Mercedes. Elle a ralenti, puis accelere, et elle est partie.'
"A cet instant, la voiture de Benoit B. se trouve exactement a la hauteur du 13e pilier. Son amie, GAELLE L., a sensiblement vu la meme chose:
'J'ai vu un vehicule de couleur sombre style Clio ou Super 5 qui roulait assez lentement. Il genait la Mercedes.' Reinterrogee le 12 septembre par le juge Stephan sur let terme 'gener', elle precisera: 'J'ai vu arriver la Mercedes a tres vive allure sur la voie de gauche. J'ai utilise ce terme car le petit vehicule circulait sur la voie de gauche et, entendant le crissement des pneus, son conducteur (. . .) se serait rebattu a droite.'
"La Mercedes ripe alors sur le trottoir central, au niveau du 12e pilier, et termine sa course folle sur le 13e. Une projection d'huile d'une hauteur de 64 centimetres sur ce pilier atteste la violence de la collision. La bloc-moteur a explose sous le choc." (L'Express, 9 Oct., p. 42)
"With the wreckage of the Mercedes blocking the way ahead, how did the Fiat Uno disappear? And if the Mercedes clipped a lighweight Fiat at 90 miles per hour, why didn't the Fiat crash?
"Police still can't answer that question. . . .
"NEWSWEEK has learned that the pictures (most confiscated from paparazzi) showed that, contrary to what was at first thought, six cars passed the wreck before traffic was stopped. That would have made it possible for the Fiat to come to a stop, recover and drive drive on." (Rod Nordland, Newsweek, 20 Oct., p. 35)
19. THE ZIG-ZAGGING MOTORCYCLE
"France 2 TV reported that a witness saw one photographer zigzag in front of the car before it crashed." (Marco R. della Cava and Maria Puente, USA Today, 2 Sept, p. 3A)
"At least four witnesses interrogated by police immediately after the accident reported seeing a large motorcycle following closely behind the Mercedes. One of them spoke of a motorcycle with two passengers, a possible reference to photographer Romuald Rat and his driver, Stephane Darmon, on their Honda 650. . . ." (Time, Oct. 13, 1997, p. 54)
"One close-range witness of the accident said a motorcycle following the Mercedes slowed down, passed the wrecked car, then accelerated and continued on its way." (Time, Oct. 13, 1997, p. 54)
"MARK BUTT, a friend of Dr. Mailliez's who arrived on the scene with him, said that as they approached the tunnel from the west, they saw a motorcycle with a single rider emerge from the east -- traveling in the same direction as the Mercedes. Butt says it stopped, made a U-turn and drove against the direction of traffic back into the tunnel." (Rod Nordland, Newsweek, 20 Oct., p. 35)
NOTE: A wire photo taken by Jacques Brinon, Associated Press, circulated on Sunday 31 August, shows police examining a small white motor bike with what looks like a BMW emblem, license No. 448 BNE91. Caption: "Police prepare to take away a motorbike belonging to a paparazzi that was chasing the car that Diana, Princess of Wales, was in when it crashed in a tunnel along the Seine river in Paris."
20. WITNESS SAW SECOND CAR FLEEING DIANA CRASH SITE.
"New evidence has surfaced concerning the involvement of a second, and even possibly a third vehicle, in the crash which killed Princess Diana. A new witness said this weekend that he had seen a small black car, which may have been a Fiat Uno, escaping at high speed from the scene.
"GARY HUNTER, a London lawyer, said he saw the escaping car from the window of his third-floor hotel room, less than 100 yards from the Alma tunnel.
"Hunter said: 'I was watching television when I heard the crash at exactly 12:25 a.m. There was an almighty crash followed by the sound of skidding, then another crash. My initial thought was that there had been a head-on collision. I went to the window and saw people running towards the tunnel.'
"Seconds later, Hunter said, he saw a car turning from the area by the tunnel exit and roaring down the Rue Jean Goujon, the street below. 'I heard a screeching of tires. I saw a small dark car turning the corner at the top of the road. I would say it was racing at 60-70 mph.'
" 'My own feeling is that these were people in a hurry not to be there. I am confident that car was getting off the scene. It was obvious they were getting away from something and that they were in a hurry. It looked quite sinister. I can't recall the type of car, but it was a small dark vehicle. It could have been a Fiat Uno or a Renault.'
"Hunter said the car was being shadowed by another vehicle, a white Mercedes. He has given a detailed account of the crash to lawyers for Mohamed al-Fayed. He said he had been told his evidence had been passed to French police. " [Sunday Times (London), Sept. 21]
21. 12:25:30 FIRST ON THE SCENE?
"American tourists TOM RICHARDSON and JOANNA LUZ were among the first on the scene. They told CNN they were walking nearby when they heard the crash and ran into the tunnel.
"The car Diana was in 'looked like it hit a wall, said Richardson, of San Diego. 'There was smoke. I think the car hit a wall. A man started running toward us telling us to go.'
"Luz said: 'The horn was sounding for about two minutes. I think it was the driver against the steering wheel.' " (Christopher Burns, AP, Sun. 31 Aug.)
"GRIGORI R., roulant lui aussi en sens inverse, a etendu 'un choc important'. Il allume ses feux de detresse, descend de sa Volkswagen Passat et s'avance jusqu'a la Mercedes. Il constate qu'une fumee grise s'echappe de la voiture de lady Di. Le klaxon retentit, bloque par le corps du chauffeur, qu'il distingue, car le plafonnier est allume." (L'Express, 9 Oct., p. 42)
"L'un des deux chauffeurs de maitre, CLIFFORD G., immediatement descendu dans le tunnel, est l'un des premiers a tenter de porter secours aux victimes:
'Le passager avant [le garde du corps, Trevor Rees-Jones] essayait de bouger. (. . .) il etait passe par le pare-brise et essayait de sortir.' Puis il entendu du bruit a l'arriere de la voiture et s'approche: 'Lady Di, que j'ai reconnue, a essaye de me parler. Elle ouvrait la bouche pour me dire quelque chose, mais aucun son ne sortait. Elle saignait du front et tentait de se lever.' (L'Express, 9 Oct., p. 43)
"Among the first bystanders to arrive, an off-duty chauffeur told her softly in English, 'Don't move. Help is coming,' as she tried to sit up and get out of the car." (Time, 13 Oct., p. 56)
"Another early arrival, a Portuguese cleaning woman, told TIME that 'Diana's head and bust were leaning on the window. She was moaning very loudly, saying, "Aye! Aye! Aye!" Her cries reverberated through the tunnel.' " (Time, 13 Oct., p. 56)
22. PAPARAZZI ARRIVE
"News also out Monday [1Sept]: France's Le Monde newspaper reported that Paul was trying to drive around a slow-moving vehicle. It also said that within 30 seconds of the crash, photographers were taking pictures and tried to push rescuers and police away." (Fred Coleman and Jack Kelley, USA Today, Tuesday 2 Sept, p1A.)
"[The official police file] notes that the paparazzi, who had been stalking Diana and Dodi since their arrival earlier that day in Paris, appeared on the scene two minutes after the collision." (Rod Nordland, Newsweek, 20 Oct., p. 34)
"The first photographer to arrive, apparently, was Rat, 24, with Darmon, 32, joined almost at once by Christian Martinez, 41, and Serge Arnal, 35, in Arnal's black Fiat Uno. (Police inspection showed no damage to the Fiat.) The next seems to have been Serge Benamou, 44, on a Piaggio motor scooter. The others arrived during the following 10 to 15 minutes." (Time, 13 Oct., p. 54)
"La Mercedes fume. Le klaxon est bloque. Le premier arrive sur les lieux est un photoraphe, Romuald Rat. Il apercoit Henri Paul, la tete en arriere, visiblement mort. Romuald Rat ouvre alors la porte arriere droite de las Mercedes. Il decouvre Diana, recroquevillee sous la pussance du choc entre les deux sieges. Le photographe ne voit que le nuque de la princesse. Il lui prend le pouls a la carotide. Elle respire. Il lui parle en anglais. Puis Romuald Rat prend des photos, rejoint, quelques secondes plus tard, par plusieurs de ses colleagues qui mitraillent a tout va. Trois d'entre eux, au moins, parviennent a quitter les lieux avant l'arrivee de la police. Cinq de leurs photos seront prevendues dans la nuit a 4 pays pur 6 millions de francs, avant d'etre retirees du marche a l'annonce du deces de lady Diana." (L'Express, Sept. 11, pp. 24-25)
[The Mercedes smokes. The horn is blocked. The first to arrive on the scene is a photographer, Romuald Rat. He perceives Henri Paul, head back, visibly dead. Romuald Rat then opens the rear right door of the Mercedes. He discovers Diana, crumpled under the force of the crash between the two seats. The photographer sees nothing but the neck of the princess. He takes her pulse at the carotid. She's breathing. He speaks to her in English. Then Romuald Rat takes some photographs, rejoined, some seconds later, by his colleagues, who take shot after shot. Three among them, at least, manage to leave the scene before the arrival of the police. Five of their photos will be offered for sale during the night to four countries for 6 million francs, before being withdrawn from market at the announcement of the death of lady Diana."] (L'Express, 11 Sept., pp. 24-25)
"JACQUES M. se retrouve egalement coince dans la file immobilisee sur l'autre voie. Son recit est particulierement precis:
'J'ai entendu un bruit enorme,' raconte-t-il. S'approchant un peu plus tard de la Mercedes, il remarque 'une moto de grosse cylindree, couchee par terre mais pas accidentee, et un scooter appuye sur sa bequille. A cote de la moto, il y avait un jeune prostre qui se tenait la tete entre les mains'. Il s'agit sans doute du pilote de la moto de l'agence Gamma, qui effectue un remplacement depuis quelques jours seulement et souffre d'une phobie des accidents de la route . . .
"Plus loins, Jacques M. assiste a une altercation entre un jeune homme de 22 ans d'origine maghrebine 'qui parlait avec l'accent des banlieues' et un homme identifie comme le photographe Romuald Rat. 'Choque par son attitude, il tenait de frapper Rat, qui se defendait en faisant tournoyer ses appareils photo.' Romuald Rat avait en effet ouvert la porte le premier et pris le pouls de la princesse. 'Il a crie: "Elle est vivante!" ' raconte un autre temoin. Puis il a pris a partie les autres photographes, en hurlant et en les repoussant, voulant sans doute se garder l'exclusivite des photos de la princesse.' (L'Express, 9 Oct., p. 43)
"PARIS - The photographer who says he took Princess Diana's pulse as she lay dying in a crushed Mercedes-Benz says he was trying to help, not trying to simply get a better photo.
" 'I tried to help, to see if they were at least alive. I opened the door of the car and saw Princess Diana sitting on the floor,' photographer Romuald Rat told France-2 television in an interview aired here Wednesday. 'I told her in English to stay calm, that I was there and help was coming. That was it. I did nothing wrong.'
"Asked if he took pictures after he opened the door, Rat, who works for the Gamma agency, replied: 'No, not at all. That really wasn't the right time for it.' Rat said he only began snapping when rescue workers arrived and a doctor began attending to the fatally injured princess." (USA Today, Thurs. 2 Sept., p. 2A)
23. 12:26 A.M. THE FIRST CALL
"According to police records, the first call to the fire department's emergency medical unit was made at 12:26 by an anonymous woman using a borrowed cell phone. Police had not yet arrived . . ." (Time, 13 Oct., p. 54)
24. 12:27 A.M. DOCTOR MAILLIEZ ARRIVES?
"Mailliez arrived at the scene three minutes after the accident occurred in a Paris tunnel on Aug. 31." (Reuters, Oct. 12)
"Dr. FREDERIC MAILLIEZ said he was driving in the opposite lane when the Mercedes sped toward him and crashed. He said he saw smoke, ran to the wreckage and back to his car, where he phoned for help and retrieved a medical kit. Mailliez, who specializes in trauma injuries, returned to the Mercedes and helped Rees-Jones. Fayed and Paul already were dead, he said.
"Then, he said, he turned to 'the woman in black,' whom he didn't recognize. 'I freed her breathing and opened her windpipe,' said Mailliez, adding that 10 to 15 paparazzi were in the tunnel. 'She was moaning and gesticulating wildly, and those are signs of choking. I put an oxygen mask on her.' . . .
"The paparazzi, Mailliez said, swarmed over the scene clicking pictures, the light bursts from their flashes ricocheting through the tunnel. He said the photographers did not assist the victims or hamper emergency crews. 'It wasn't their place to intervene,' Mailliez said of the paparazzi. 'It's better (for medical reasons) they didn't.' " (Seattle Times, from wire services, Tues. 2 Sep, p. A7)
"A ce moment passe par hasard le Dr. Frederic Mailliez, de SOS-Medecins. Immediatement, il pose un masque a oxygene sur le visage de lady Diana. Les paparazzi continuent de mitrailler la Mercedes, mais sans gener le travail du medecin. Ce dernier appelle lui aussi les pompiers, en reclamant un vehicule de desincarceration. Aucun photographe n'utilisera son portable pur reclamer des secours." (L'Express, Sept. 11, 1997, p. 25)
"The first medical worker to arrive was Christian [sic] Mailliez, 36, an off-duty emergency-service doctor who happened to be driving through the opposite lane of the tunnel on the way back from a birthday party. "There was a lot of smoke," he told TIME and CNN in a joint interview. "People were speaking loudly. There was a kind of panic, like one usually finds at accident scenes." (Time, 13 Oct., p. 54)
25. DIANA HURT OR UNHURT? BLOOD OR NO BLOOD?
"Paparazzi photographs developed by French investigators show Diana with her eyes open apparently conscious and unhurt, with no sign of blood, according to Newsweek. " (REUTERS, 12 Oct. )
"Nestled among sheets of police reports, carefully sketched diagrams and statements from witnesses are photographs of Diana in the wreckage of the Mercedes. Taken by a paparazzo, Diana, eyes open, appears conscious and unhurt; there is no sign of blood." (Rod Nordland, Newsweek, 20 Oct., p. 34)
"Dressed in a white T-shirt and white jeans that were soon spattered with the princess' blood, Mailliez put an oxygen mask over her face while a former volunteer fireman supported Rees-Jones' bloody head in his hands. Mailliez said the paparazzi had not hindered him in his work . . ." (Time, 13 Oct., p. 54)
"Horrific internal injuries may have doomed the princess from the moment of impact . . . with her left pulmonary vein ripped, her heart was pumping blood by the quart into her chest cavity. That fact was not apparent to the first witnesses and medical workers on the scene. What they found was an elegantly coiffed woman sitting on the floor of the car with her legs up on the rear seat, leaning against the back of the front passenger seat. She was bleeding from a gash on her forehead. Blood was also flowing from her ear, nose and mouth. But she was conscious and moving." (Time, 13 Oct., p. 56)
"The first physician at the crash that killed Princess Diana said her injuries were so massive that even if the accident had happened in front of a hospital emergency room she could not have been saved, according to Newsweek magazine.
"Dr Frederic Mailliez, an emergency worker with SOS Medecins, said she had suffered a severe lesion to her pulmonary vein.
`` 'Her heart had been ripped out of its place in her chest,' Mailliez is quoted by Newsweek in the latest edition available Monday. `There was no chance for her.' . . .
`` 'I held her hand and spoke to her, took her pulse, put the resuscitation mask on her, assured her she was safe,' he told Newsweek. (REUTERS, 12 Oct. )
26. LAST WORDS OR NO LAST WORDS?
"If Diana had any last words, Mailliez probably heard them. The paparazzi at the scene have been quoted as saying that Diana told rescue workers, 'Leave me alone' and 'My God.' Mailliez would not tell NEWSWEEK what Diana said. 'I must respect the privacy of the patient.' " (Rod Nordland, Newsweek, 20 Oct., p. 35)
"He dismissed reports that the Princess of Wales had given Mailliez any last message for her family.
" 'When you're in that kind of pain, you don't think much about giving testaments to the next generation,' he said. 'The only thing you think of expressing is the pain.' " (REUTERS, 12 Oct. )
27. 12:28 A.M. THE POLICE ARRIVE
"Hailed by passersby while patrolling in the area, the first two police officers reached the scene within five minutes of the accident. In their official report, the officers described the scene thus: 'Numerous people, mainly photographers, were shooting pictures of the right rear of the car, whose door was open.' One of the officers 'rushed up and attempted to push back the photographers, who offered resistance. They were virulent, pushy and continued to take photos, intentionally preventing him from bringing aid to the victims. One of them pushed [the officer] back and declared, 'You piss me off. Let me do my work. At Sarajevo at least the cops let us work.' " (Time, Oct. 13, 1997, p. 56)
NOTE: The complete quote, found in the 11 Sept issue of L'Express, ends with the sentence: "Vous navez qu'a vous faire tirer dessus et vous verrez.'' ["You've got no way to coverup and you know it."]
28. 12:29
"American tourists JACK and ROBIN FIRESTONE told the Agence France-Presse news agency that they were in a taxi heading the opposite direction as the Mercedes and saw the wrecked car in the tunnel almost immediately after the accident. Robin Firestone said about five photographers were taking pictures as police tried to remove them from the scene." (Seattle Times, Tues. 2 Sept., p. A7)
NOTE: the discrepancy in number of photographers. Dr. Mailliez has just said (above) that there were 10 to 15 photographers when he arrived, and he arrived before the police, yet when the Firestones see police trying to remove the photographers, Robin estimates there are "about five." This suggests five to 10 people left the scene when police arrived.
"ROBIN FIRESTONE of Hewlett Harbor, L.I., who was visiting Paris, said one of the paparazzi put his camera on the wrecked car's windshield and snapped away.
Her husband, Jack, said, "These photographers were all over the car like sharks after raw meat." (New York Post, Tues. 2 Sept)
29. 12:31 A.M. PADDY WAGON ARRIVES TO CART OFF FOTOGS
"L'un des deux policiers poursuit: 'Tres rapidement, un vehicule de la brigade anticriminalite arrive sur les lieux afin nous aider a ecarter les photographes et badauds . . .'
"Il termine: 'Mon collegue maintient eveillee tant que possible la passagere arriere droite en lui parlant et en lui tapotant la joue . . .' " (L'Express, 11 Sept., p. 25)
["One of the two policemen continued: 'Very rapidly, a vehicle from the anticriminal brigade arrived on the scene at last to help us remove the photographers and onlookers . . . '
"He ends: 'My colleague kept conscious as much as possible the passenger in the right rear by speaking to her and patting her cheek . . . ' "] (L'Express, 11 Sept., p. 25)
In addition to arresting seven photographers on the scene, the police seized at least 20 rolls of their film:
"Investigators also were examining about 20 rolls of film confiscated from the photographers, six Frenchmen and one Macedonian. . . . (USA Today, 2 Sept., p. 3A)
30. 12:32 A.M. RESCUE VEHICLES ARRIVE, MAILLIEZ LEAVES
"Une ambulance et le vehicule de desincarceration des pompiers de la rue Malar arrivent. Huit minutes plus tard, le Samu de l'hopital Necker est sur place." ["An ambulance and the rescue vehicle from the firefighters on Malar street arrive. Eight minutes later, the SAMU from the hospital Necker is in place."] (L'Express, 11 Sept., p. 25)
"[Mailliez] left once the first emergency firefighters' unit arrived at 12:32 a.m., about several minutes after the accident." (Time, 13 Oct., p. 54)
"Germany's largest newspaper, Bild Zeitung, published a front-page photograph Monday of the smashed Mercedes. Uncredited, it shows rescuers reaching into the car. One or two slumped figures appear to be inside. An editor at the newspaper's photo desk said the newspaper bought the photograph 'from an agency in Paris.' " (Marco R. della Cava and Maria Puente, USA Today, 2 Sept, p. 3A)
NOTE: The French magazine L'Express reprinted this photo on the cover of its 9 October issue, and the Italian magazine Panorama includes the photo on page 29 of its 2 October issue ("Conspiracy of Diana and Versace: Why no one should believe the official version").
The unnamed photographer took the snap from several feet back. It shows three firemen in blaze-orange vests standing at the front doors and the rear back door of the car, reaching inside. The interior of the car is dark and almost completely invisible. Dr. Mailliez and his friend are nowhere to be seen.
Surprisingly, the rear roof and windows of the Mercedes seem perfectly unscathed by the crash -- the rear of the car is not smashed, damaged or deformed in the least. This raises the question how the rear window was smashed and how the roof of the car became such a flattened pancake before it left the tunnel in full view of TV cameras.
This photo proves that the illustration in the 2 September issue of USA Today is absolutely wrong: the cartoon illustration shows the car tipping sideways, and the caption says "4. The car flips across the right-hand lane and smashes roof first into the tiled wall." That simply did not happen.
31. 12:35 A.M.
Photographer Jacques Langevin arrives.
"Langevin said he arrived about 10 minutes after the crash and 'the car was surrounded by police, firemen and photographers ... Personally, I have four or five photographs, taken about 15 yards away, under the eyes of the police who had set up a sort of light barrier.' " (New York Post, 2 Sept.)
Why the police arrested Langevin is not clear, but he certainly was arrested.
"Langevin said: 'Everything seems so absurd and stupid. I've the impression of having fallen into a net.' " (New York Post, 2 Sept.)
32. 12:40 A.M. ONE, TWO OR THREE AMBULANCES ARRIVE?
"Huit minutes plus tard, le Samu de l'hopital Necker est sur place. " ["Eight minutes later, the SAMU from the hospital Necker is in place." (L'Express, 11 Sept., p. 25)
NOTE: the hospital Necker is actually closer to the crash scene than the Pitie-Salpetriere.
"Apres un appel recu a 0h26, les trois ambulances du Samu de Paris sont arrivees a 0h40 sur les lieux de l'accident, ou ils ont trouve les pompiers deja presents.
["After a call for help at 0 h 26, the three ambulances from SAMU of Paris arrived at 040 on the scene of the accident, where they found the firefighters already present."] (Le Monde, 11 Sept.)
33. PREFECT OF POLICE ARRIVES
Le prefet de police, Philippe Massoni, tres rapidement informe, parvient sur les lieux et met sur pied un perimetre de securite. Il previent le ministre de l'Interieur, Jean-Pierre Chevenement. Viennent egalement le directeur de la PJ parisienne, Patrick Riou, ainsi que le substitut du procureur de la Republique, qui charge la brigade criminelle de l'enquete." (L'Express, 11 Sept., p. 25)
[The prefect of police, Philippe Massoni, very rapidly informed, reaches the scene and sets up a security perimeter. He forewarns the Minister of the Interior, Jean-Pierre Chevenement. Warns likewise the director of the Parisian Police Judiciae, Patrick Riou, as well as the deputy public prosecutor for the Republic, who takes charge of the criminal brigade for the investigation. ] (L'Express, 11 Sept., p. 25)
34. 12:35 to 1:15 A.M. EXTRACTION FROM VEHICLE AND STABILIZATION
"Les medecins ont alors mis en oeuvre, durant 30 a 45 minutes, les procedures habituelles de reanimation d'urgence (intubation, ventilation, traitement du choc vasculaire)." [The Doctors then set in action, for 30 to 45 minutes, the habitual procedures of emergency reanimation (intubation, ventilation, treatment for vascular shock.] (Le Monde, Sept. 11)
"Once the emergency units arrived, it took them 30 to 45 minutes to extract Diana from the vehicle and stabilize her with intubation, oxygen and treatment for shock." (Time, 13 Oct., p. 56)
"It took the emergency workers a full 52 minutes to place Diana in the ambulance." (Rod Nordland, Newsweek, 20 October, p. 34)
"Dans le tunnel regne une atmosphere irreelle. De puissants projecteurs on ete allumes. Les gyrophares des voitures de secours tournent sans relache. Le camion d'oxygene emet un bruit sourd. Spectacle hallucinant. Les pieces de la Mercedes son eparpillees sur la chaussee. Henri Paul, le chauffeur, est mort sur le coup. Dodi est etendu sur le sol a quelques metres. Un pompier tent un massage cardiaque. En vain. Le secouristes extraient avec difficulte le garde du corps -- le seul a avoir attache sa ceinture -- grievement blesse: il a une partie du visage arrachee et la langue coupee. Lady Diana repose sur une civiere, apparement sans aucune trace du choc, excepte une legere griffure au visage. Selon les medecins, elle souffre d'un traumatisme cranien, a l'epaule droite fracturee et des blessures aux jambes. Elle est en coma vigile (un coma accompagne de delires ou le malade s'agite et parle en dormant, mais ouvre les yeux au moindre appel). Un temoin l'entendra murmur: "My God, my God." (L'Express, 11 Sept., pp. 25-26.)
35. WHEN DID SHE LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS?
"Souffrant notamment de graves lesions thoraciques, Lady Diana etait alors semi-consciente, sans pour autant etre en etat de repondre aux questions des sauveteurs, avant, rapidement, de tomber dans le coma."
36. 1:18 A.M. or 1:50 A.M. WHEN DID THE AMBULANCE DEPART?
The 11 September issue of L'Express (below) says the ambulance did not depart until 1:50 and pegs arrival at 2:10 A.M. -- a trip of 3.7 miles covered in 20 minutes, which means they traveled one mile every five minute, at a rate of approximately 12 miles per hour.
"A 1h 50, l'ambulance du Samu, dans laquelle se trouve lady Diana, escortee de deux voitures de police et de deux motards, demarre a faible allure. Direction: la Pitie-Salpetriere. Le convoi s'arretera quelques minutes sur le pont d'Austerlitz, pour permettre aux medecins un intervention delicate." (L'Express, 11 Sept, p. 26)
["At 1h 50, the SAMU ambulance, into which lady Diana is placed, escorted by two police cars and two motorcycles, starts moving at a slow pace. Direction: the Pitie-Salpetriere. The convoy halts itself some minutes on the Pont d'Austerlitz to permit the doctors a delicate invervention.] (L'Express, 11 Sept, p. 26)
The Time magazine chronology dated 13 October suggests the ambulance departed the scene between 1:18 and 1:25 A.M. Newsweek's article of 20 October suggests departure at 1:22. Both agree she arrived at 2:05, one hour and 40 minutes after the accident. Under this scenario, the trip from the crash scene to the hospital took 40 minutes, which means the ambulance moved about 6 miles an hour.
"At 1:18 she was placed in an ambulance. At the doctor's insistence, the ambulance proceeded slowly so as not to aggravate the injuries. Thus it took some 40 minutes to reach the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital instead of the usual10 minutes. On arrival at 2:05 a.m., the princess was in cardiac arrest." (Time, 13 Oct., p. 56) NOTE: Time does not mention the "delicate intervention."
"Finally, at 2:05 in the morning, 43 minutes after leaving the scene, Diana arrived at the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital, a 3.7 mile trip." (Rod Nordland, Newsweek, 20 October, p. 34)
37. WHY DIDN'T THEY LEAVE SOONER OR DRIVE FASTER?
"To many, the elapsed time from the arrival of the ambulance at the accident scene to the hospital -- a total of one hour and 45 minutes -- seemed inordinately long. Diana, after all, didn't have to be cut out of the car (though both Rees-Jones and Paul did!) And the ambulance bypassed at least two major hospitals. To Parisians, the pace of the trip was entirely understandable. French ambulances are always staffed with a fully qualified doctor and are considered an extension of the hospital: driving slowly is standard. 'It's worse to go fast," says Mailliez. "Braking and accelerating can literally kill your patient, because the blood races to head and feet alternately.' " (Rod Nordland, Newsweek, 20 Oct., p. 34-35)
Now, about that stop on the Pont d'Austerlitz . . .
38. 2:00 A.M. IF SHE WAS IN CARDIAC ARREST, WHY DID THEY STOP JUST SHORT OF THE HOSPITAL?
"Driving slowly is standard. 'It's worse to go fast,' says Mailliez. "Braking and accelerating can literally kill your patient.' "
So if they were driving so carefully, why did she arrest, and once she arrested why did they stop? Doesn't stopping and starting kill your patient? What was the "delicate intervention" that made this stop necessary?
"At the Pont d'Austerlitz, a short distance from the hospital, the motorcade pulled off the road; Diana's heart had stopped beating. She was injected with a strong dose of adrenaline, and the ambulance continued on." (Rod Nordland, Newsweek, 20 Oct., p. 34)
Is it really necessary to stop an ambulance crawling at 6 miles per hour to administer an injection of adrenaline?
A number of very important people had begun arriving at hospital, and the resident staff were apparently growing nervous about the failure of the ambulance to arrive more promptly. Some worried that the ambulance had become lost.
39. 2:05 or 2:10 A.M. ARRIVAL AT HOSPITAL
"Arrivee aux urgences de la Salpetriere. Sont deja presents: le ministre de l'Interieur, Jean-Pierre Chevenement, le prefet de police, Philippe Massoni, et l'ambassadeur de Grande-Bretagne en France, Sir Michael Jay, que Jean-Pierre Chevenement a lui-meme prevenu. Le chirugien de garde, qui a deja opere deux patients, dont une femme qui s'est defenestree, prend en charge la princesse de Galles. Un de ses confreres est appele en renfort."
[Arrived at the emergency of the Salpetriere. There are already present: the minister of the interior, Jean-Pierre Chevenement, the prefect of police, Philippe Massoni, and the ambassador of Great Britain in France, Sir Michael Jay, whom Jean-Pierre Chevenement himself has notified. The surgeon on duty, who has already operated on two patients, including a woman who threw herself out a window, takes charge of the Princess of Wales. One of his colleagues is called in for backup.] (L'Express, 11 Sept., p. 26)
40. WHO ARE THE DOCTORS IN CHARGE?
La princesse de Galles a alors aussitot ete prise en charge par les professeurs Bruno Riou et Alain Pavie et leurs collaborateurs au groupe hospitalier Pitie-Salpetriere, dans l'un des meilleurs services europeens de reanimation et de chirurgie cardiovasculaire." (Le Monde, 11 Sept)
41. IS DOCTOR BRUNO RIOU RELATED TO PATRICK RIOU?
Patrick Riou is director of the Paris Police Judiciae (equivalent of our FBI), and was notified of the accident at 0 h 40 (see above).
Bruno Riou is head of the intensive care unit at Pitie-Salpetriere and took charge of Diana's medical treatment.
Are the two Riou related?
No comment.
42. WHEN DID THE DOCTORS DISCOVER THE HEMORRHAGE?
Early reports from the hospital indicate that Princess Diana went into arrest after arrival and that doctors did not discover the internal hemorrhage of Diana's left pulmonary vein until after her chest was opened.
"On her arrival at the hospital, Diana was bleeding profusely in the chest area, Riou said. Cardiac arrest quickly set in.
Doctors opened the princess' chest cavity and discovered "an important wound of the left pulmonary vein," he said.
The wound, the apparent source of the hemorrhage, was closed, and heart massage - external, then internal - was applied for two hours. But it failed to revive her, and she was declared dead at 4 a.m. local time."
(Associated Press, 8/31/97 4:22 A.M. ET)
This story suggests that rescue workers who performed external CPR on the princess before arrival at hospital did not know about the hemorrhage and may have inadvertently killed Princess Diana by causing large amounts of blood to flood her lungs.
It is interesting to note, then, that by mid-September the earlier stories have been "clarified" with 20-20 hindsight to suggest that the internal hemorrhage was discovered immediately, on the scene of the accident:
"Les medecins esperent alors la sauver, mais, tres vite, ils decouvrent une profonde hemorragie interne, provoquee par la rupture des veines alimentant le coeur." (L'Express, 11 Sept., pp. 25-26.)
Early and later stories agree that doctors did not open her chest until after she arrived in the emergency ward:
"On arrival at 2:05 a.m., the princess was in cardiac arrest. Doctors opened her chest and found massive internal bleeding from the ruptured vein. Although they sutured the wound and administered heart massage, no cardiac activity could be re-established." (Time, 13 Oct., p. 56)
43. 3:30 A.M. DIANA UNDERGOES OPEN-HEART MASSAGE
"A 3h 30, le Pr Bruno Riou fait savoir au ministre de l'Interieur que Diana subit un massage a coeur ouvert. Le diagnostic est pessimiste. " ["At 3h 30, professor Bruno Riou makes known to the minister of the interior that Diana is undergoing an open-heart massage. The diagnosis is pessimistic."] (L'Express, 11 Sept., p. 26)
44. 4:05 or 4: 15 A.M. PRINCESS DIANA DECLARED DEAD
"A 4h 5, le professeur annonce le deces de lady Diana." (L'Express, 11 Sept., p. 25)
45. 4:15 A.M. Princess Diana pronounced dead. (Time, 13 Oct., p. 56)
Text of the doctors' statement announcing Diana's death August 31, 1997 Web posted at: 3:06 a.m. EDT (0706 GMT):
PARIS (AFP) - The following is the official text signed by doctors Bruno Rioux and Philippe Pavie at the Paris' Pitie Salpetriere hospital on the cause of death: "The Princess of Wales was the victim of a high speed car crash tonight in Paris. She was immediately taken by the Paris SAMU emergency services which carried out initial resuscitation. "On her arrival at Pitie Salpetriere hospital, she had massive chest injuries and hemorrhaging, followed rapidly by cardiac arrest. "An emergency thoracectomy revealed a major wound on the left pulmonary vein.
"Despite closing this wound and two hours of external and then
internal cardiac massage, circulation could not be reestablished and death
occurred at 4 o'clock in the morning."