Diana, Princess of Wales, Killed in Car Crash
Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car crash in central Paris along with her close friend Dodi Fayed.
Early on Sunday morning the 36-year-old Princess and Mr Fayed were in a Mercedes car which went out of control at high speed as it entered an underground tunnel in the French capital. The 41-year-old Mr Fayed, son of Harrods owner Mohammed Al Fayed, and the car's driver died instantly.
The Princess was taken from the wreckage and rushed to the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in south-east Paris. First medical reports indicated that she was suffering from concussion, a broken arm and cuts to her thighs. It later emerged that the Princess had suffered massive chest injuries.
At 4.53am it was announced that the Princess had died.
The official news that Diana had died was announced outside the hospital by French Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement.
Foreign Secretary Robin Cook confirmed her death in a statement on the tarmac at Manila military airport in the Philippines.
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| French police at the scene of the accident |
"I am greatly shocked by this news. Our first thoughts must be with her children and family at this time of immense loss to them," he said. The 36-year-old princess died at 4 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) after going into cardiac arrest, doctors told a hospital news conference.
On Monday afternoon the French authorities announced that the driver of the Mercedes had well over the legal level of alcohol in his blood.
Diana's last day
Diana had hoped to spend a romantic Saturday evening in Paris with her new friend, Dodi Fayed. The two had supper at the Michelin two-star restaurant in the Ritz Hotel, which is owned by Mr Fayed's father, and is known for its seafood.
The evening was to have ended in a private villa - also owned by Dodi's father - across the Seine river in the exclusive 16th arrondissement.
But the couple never got there. They left the Ritz around midnight local time in a car chauffeured by a hotel employee. Their black Mercedes was pursued by paparazzi on motorcycles, the commercial photographers who constantly tail Diana to snatch pictures of her. Seven photographers have been arrested and are helping police with their enquiries.
A few minutes later the car crashed in a tunnel at the Pont de l'Alma bridge along the Seine River, less than a half-mile from the Eiffel Tower. The car apparently hit a concrete post in the center divider, then bounced into the right wall. The impact crushed the car and all the passengers, including the princess.
Bleeding profusely in the chest area, Diana was transported to the La Pitie-Salpetriere in southwestern Paris, where doctors operated and then applied heart massage for two hours.
But they failed to get her heart going and Diana died from internal bleeding stemming from major chest and lung injuries, said Dr. Bruno Riou, head of intensive care at the hospital.
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