The Diana Inquest: October 2007 - April 2008


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Status
Not open for further replies.
I question the safety of the architecture inside tunnels, perhaps such design is unforgiving for speeding cars :ohmy:
 
Very interesting articles IMO no one should believe anything Simone Simmons has to say Diana wasn't even talking to her at the time of her death.
 
I am sure that this has been spoken of before here, but I just ran across photos of Diana in the wrecked car and I presume hospital? I cannot believe it, she has living sons that could see these.
 
milla Ca said:
Diana´s dead, get over it

Diana’s dead, get over it | Rachel Johnson - Times Online
Click to expand...
From the article -
"But otherwise, it’s left me cold. And everyone else I know. Ten years after she died, we are all bored and irritated by the fact that the insatiable grief and limitless funds of one bereaved father can hold a whole country to ransom like this". - There is another sad sign that Diana-fatigue, despite the best efforts of newspapers such as the Daily Express, whose older female readers love Diana as their own, is growing.

"Hate to say it, but when it comes to a living, breathing, publicity-hungry celebrity and an icon that has been in the grave 10 long years, there’s a genuine competition for our attention in these shallow times. And as for all those born after July 29, 1981 – well, I doubt they’ve given poor Princess Diana a second thought".
Click to expand...
I couldn't have put it better myself!
 
I agree that is is painful and upsetting to continuously go over the death of Princess Diana. Her family was given information by the French officials and physicians and they seemed to be satisfied at that. The Spencers are only at the inquest,imo, to represent the estate of the late Princess.

However, she died with 2 other people who derserve at the bare minimum, an inquest at the behest of the request of Mr. Al-Fayed. I am sure the family of Henri Paul are eager to know as much as they can about their loss.
 
Why did it take so long for this info to get out? Wonder if Prince Phillip was in the other black car?? Seriously, it sounds like a photographer.
 
pinkie40 said:
However, she died with 2 other people who derserve at the bare minimum, an inquest at the behest of the request of Mr. Al-Fayed. I am sure the family of Henri Paul are eager to know as much as they can about their loss.
Click to expand...
If I wanted two investigations and an inquest or two into the death of someone who died in a road traffic accident, through drink driving, do you really believe I would be able to demand one? Of course not, I just wish they would send Fayed the bill! :bang:
 
Lighthouse said:
Why did it take so long for this info to get out? Wonder if Prince Phillip was in the other black car?? Seriously, it sounds like a photographer.
Click to expand...

This information and claims about the white Fiat, etc. has always been 'out', Lighthouse, or at least I've seen it on one of the many spurious tv programs about 'the conspiracy'.

The one thing which has always genuinely puzzled me is the condition of the Mercedes-Benz. It was a thoroughly and completely mangled mess, and they're built like tanks! And why didn't the airbags work? Were the seatbelts indeed jammed and not working after the theft as some conspiracy theorists have claimed?

Why have M-B's engineers been absolutely refused permission to examine the car? I don't understand this at all. Surely, it would have been to everyone's advantage if they could conclusively assure the world that the car hadn't been interfered with in any way when it was stolen.

As for the inquest - I, too, wish that it were over and regret that it needed to be held. I don't believe, for one minute, either, that Prince Phillip was in any way involved.

I understand that, according to law, this inquest was compulsory, hence Fayed is in no way responsible for the cost. It's just a great pity that it's taken so very long to get underway, properly. The strain placed on the family must be very great.
 
Polly said:
Why have M-B's engineers been absolutely refused permission to examine the car? I don't understand this at all. Surely, it would have been to everyone's advantage if they could conclusively assure the world that the car hadn't been interfered with in any way when it was stolen.
Click to expand...
According to ther Paget report (chapter 6, pages 419-426) the car was examined by David Price, Principal Consultant with the Incident Investigation & Reconstruction Group at the Transport Research Laboratory.
He "consulted with technical representative of Daimler-Benz (Mercedes)".
Only the right rear seat belt was jammed, and the report concludes that the mechanism was displaced after the collision.
The summary concludes with "There was no evidence of tampering or interference with the vehicle" [which was stolen in April 1997].
There is no mention of the air bags in this chapter of the report other than the statement that they were examined.
 
Last edited:
Last edited by a moderator:
The problem with airbags is that they're only good for one collision. Apparently in this case the car hit the pillar and the airbags deployed, but the car then bounced off the pillar and hit the wall, and the airbags had already been deployed when it first hit the pillar so there was no protection for the second collision. And ten years ago I don't think they were fitting cars with all these other airbags at the sides which they use now, so the people in the back wouldn't have had any protection.
 
Polly said:
I understand that, according to law, this inquest was compulsory, hence Fayed is in no way responsible for the cost.
Click to expand...
An inquest is held for any Brit dying abroad, we don't normally have an (expensive) investigation here, if a perfectly satisfactory one has already been held.
 
This inquest is very complex, and maybe difficult.
 
Warren said:
According to ther Paget report (chapter 6, pages 419-426) the car was examined by David Price, Principal Consultant with the Incident Investigation & Reconstruction Group at the Transport Research Laboratory.
He "consulted with technical representative of Daimler-Benz (Mercedes)".
Only the right rear seat belt was jammed, and the report concludes that the mechanism was displaced after the collision.
The summary concludes with "There was no evidence of tampering or interference with the vehicle" [which was stolen in April 1997].
There is no mention of the air bags in this chapter of the report other than the statement that they were examined.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this information, Warren. I haven't seen the Paget report. However, I do know that the car manufacturer was disappointed and remains unhappy that they have been denied their own access. In the first instance, as I understand it, the overwhelming damage to the car was seen as a PR disaster for them. Only because a near family member is an employee of Daimler-Benz, I drive a C200 Elegance, and I know what is expected to happen to the car in a high-speed crash - i.e. the car is engineered in such a way as the damaging engine and parts are supposed to slip under the car, not intrude into the passenger's space. Of course, what is supposed to happen isn't always what does happen, but it's why I think that the car's engineers should have had untrammelled access and permitted to make their own investigation and draw their own conclusions.

Last year, a drunk driver drove into my car while travelling at a very high speed. My car was very badly bashed and dinted indeed but the airbags deployed instantly and all us, including the dog who wasn't properly strapped in, were unscathed. The other car was almost completely demolished (it was an insurance write-off) and the stupid young man driving it was hospitalised for many months. This safety factor is one of the major reasons that people drive Mercedes. And yes, Elspeth, Mercedes-Benz cars did indeed have side airbags 10 years ago; well, the ones in Australia did.

The bottom line for me is that every single, possible aspect and nuance of this tragedy be open to public examination. It is only then, I believe, that this whole distressing mess will go away. To be honest, I'm sick of all of the wild speculation and its inherent slanders and would prefer that even the tiniest detail or criticism be met head on so that it can be examined, explained then summarily dismissed, rather than dragging on and on forever, thus giving outrageous claims some sort of credence to the credulous.
 
Skydragon said:
An inquest is held for any Brit dying abroad, we don't normally have an (expensive) investigation here, if a perfectly satisfactory one has already been held.
Click to expand...

But surely that's the point, Skydragon, i.e. that too many did not believe that the earlier inquest was perfectly satisfactory? Nor should we forget that a royal hasn't died in such controversial circumstances before. I think, therefore, that the inquest is entirely appropriate.

I will only think it a waste of time and money if any detail, claim and counter-claim, accusation etc. is not fully addressed so that it can publicly be dismissed. To the conspiracy die-hards, it's a matter of justice being seen to have been done. If not, the rumours and sheer spite surrounding the BRF will continue well into history's record, and I, for one, don't believe that they deserve this.
 
Polly said:
But surely that's the point, Skydragon, i.e. that too many did not believe that the earlier inquest was perfectly satisfactory? Nor should we forget that a royal hasn't died in such controversial circumstances before. I think, therefore, that the inquest is entirely appropriate.
Click to expand...

There wasn't a separate earlier inquest. This is a continuation of the one and only inquest.
 
selrahc4 said:
There wasn't a separate earlier inquest. This is a continuation of the one and only inquest.
Click to expand...

Yes, thanks for correcting me (it's very early in the morning here). I should have said the French and Steven's official investigations and the French appeals court's decisions. Doesn't alter my opinions or arguments, however.

Does anyone know, by the way, if all of the Diana investigation files which went missing in Paris have been found?
 
Polly said:
Yes, thanks for correcting me (it's very early in the morning here). I should have said the French and Steven's official investigations and the French appeals court's decisions. Doesn't alter my opinions or arguments, however.

Does anyone know, by the way, if all of the Diana investigation files which went missing in Paris have been found?
Click to expand...

Actually, the French court said the files weren't missing. Although the lawyer of one of the paparazzi present on the crash scene wasn't able to get those files. He was told that they were missing but the computer of the archives concluded that it was impossible. Since then, I didn't find anymore information ...
 
TheTruth said:
Actually, the French court said the files weren't missing. Although the lawyer of one of the paparazzi present on the crash scene wasn't able to get those files. He was told that they were missing but the computer of the archives concluded that it was impossible. Since then, I didn't find anymore information ...
Click to expand...

Accordingly to what I read (Le Figaro/The Times/the BBC), the originals were stored in 2002, then, allegedly couldn't be found, but I have just read that they were relocated last month (September 2nd).

"I wanted, out of curiosity, to see the original file a month ago," Mr Pelletier told The Times today. "They said it couldn't be found. The appeal court didn't have it. The registrar didn't have it and nor did the law courts' archives. It's very troubling that a file of this importance could disappear. The authorities responsible for keeping it could not tell me where it went."
Several complete photocopies of the case file exist, but the originals are legally necessary for future proceedings, such as the new British inquest that is opening on October 2.

Thanks for the advice, The Truth. I'm relieved that there's not yet another 'suspicious' happening to cloud the issue.
 
Elspeth said:
The problem with airbags is that they're only good for one collision. Apparently in this case the car hit the pillar and the airbags deployed, but the car then bounced off the pillar and hit the wall, and the airbags had already been deployed when it first hit the pillar so there was no protection for the second collision. And ten years ago I don't think they were fitting cars with all these other airbags at the sides which they use now, so the people in the back wouldn't have had any protection.
Click to expand...

From Huth's account, the airbags seem still to be inflated, some 2-3 minutes after the collisions, which suggest to me that they would have provided at least some protection for the impact with the wall - which can't have been more than a second or so after the collision with the pillar - even if they had started to deflate. That first photo indicates they were still inflated at that stage. Or is it the case that the protective pressure only lasts a fraction of a second?

There's a suggestion, supported by Huth's account, that there were three impacts, which seems to support the suggestion of an initial collision with another vehicle, either a dark car or the white Fiat. Perhaps the airbag first deployed when the Mercedes hit the first car, which would have meant Paul couldn't have controlled the car after that. If the airbags deployed in response to a relatively minor impact (with the car), rendering him unable to control the car and avoid further collision, Mercedes should have been able to know that 10 years ago so they could make adjustments. It would indeed be a tragedy if the airbags which were designed to save lives were a major contributing factor to the fatal second and third collisions.

Of course if the two people in the back seat had been wearing seat belts they wouldn't have been thrown around inside the car as they were.

I agree with the later poster who said that all this must be made public. I hope that if that is done, and everyone knows precisely what happened, the matter can be finalised once and for all, and that all the bereaved can finally close this sad chapter in their lives and move on.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

wbenson
The Verdict of the Diana Inquest, April 2008, and Aftermath
9 10 11
Replies
325
Views
37K
Mermaid1962
M
Warren
  • Locked
Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh Current Events 19: October 2008-March 2009
16 17 18
Replies
511
Views
76K
Warren
Warren
Warren
  • Locked
Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip: State Visit to Slovenia & Slovakia - Oct 21-24, 2008
2 3
Replies
78
Views
17K
Jose
J
Warren
The Memorial Service: August 31, 2007
10 11 12
Replies
331
Views
93K
Denville
D
Warren
  • Locked
The Late Diana, Princess of Wales News Thread 7: October 2007-June 2008
6 7 8
Replies
237
Views
27K
Warren
Warren

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom