Last Hours, Death, Transfer from France, Funeral and Interment

[Rayal]

The way I understand it Betsy was the paparazzi knew the Mercedes S-280 that Dodi traveled in most of the time. Many knew it by heart by its license plate number, so they parked it out front of the hotel as part of the deception. So when Henri Paul and Dodi cooked up this scheme they needed another S-280 and there was only one available from Etoile Limousine, which was this 1994 Mercedes S-280 that was parked in back of the hotel.


He is now married and lives in Oswestry, Shropshire in a £500,000 home.


I see from time to time people say he was the only one wearing a seat belt, but that is not true according to both British and French investigations (I went back and checked). They say none of the four occupants wore a seat belt. The airbag saved him, but even so he was severely injured and in a coma for 10 days with several injuries.

 

[TLLK]

I don't know why they picked that car or had it picked for them or.......just a series of terrible "what ifs", sigh.

Oh that's true, now I do remember that......I wonder how he's doing now.

Sadly there are too many "what ifs" when it comes to this very sad story.

 

[Rayal]

This official copy comes through CBS News of the investigation but there are other official reports out there.


https://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/Diana_Study.pdf

 

[Betsypaige]

The way I understand it Betsy was the paparazzi knew the Mercedes S-280 that Dodi traveled in most of the time. Many knew it by heart by its license plate number, so they parked it out front of the hotel as part of the deception. So when Henri Paul and Dodi cooked up this scheme they needed another S-280 and there was only one available from Etoile Limousine, which was this 1994 Mercedes S-280 that was parked in back of the hotel.


He is now married and lives in Oswestry, Shropshire in a £500,000 home.


I see from time to time people say he was the only one wearing a seat belt, but that is not true according to both British and French investigations (I went back and checked). They say none of the four occupants wore a seat belt. The airbag saved him, but even so he was severely injured and in a coma for 10 days with several injuries.

Raval, thanks! Ugh, the paparazzi were and are despicable....to go to that extent.....so ugly.

Trevor was lucky to survive.....lesson learned regarding seat belts.

 

[Denville]

Raval, thanks! Ugh, the paparazzi were and are despicable....to go to that extent.....so ugly.

Trevor was lucky to survive.....lesson learned regarding seat belts.

Bodyguards usually do not wear seatbelts so as to be free to react. None of the 4 in the car were wearing their seatbelts

 

[Sandy345]

Somewhere along the line Rees Jones did snap on his seatbelts. The exact events are not recalled by the bodyguard. It was a last minute substitute car. There have been seatbelts that are able to be buckled up but don't reach around the person in the car.

 

[TLLK]

Bodyguards usually do not wear seatbelts so as to be free to react. None of the 4 in the car were wearing their seatbelts

Good point.

 

[Jacknch]

There are various accounts of whether Trevor Rees-Jones wore a seatbelt or not. Some say he did not and was only saved because of the air-bag.

In this article it suggests that he put on a seatbelt moments before the crash because he realised there was danger ahead "either because of the speed of the car or because of the proximity of other vehicles" -

CNN - Bodyguard put on seat belt just before Diana car crash - September 21, 1997

It seems inconceivable to me that he would have done so without warning the other passengers to do the same.

 

[Denville]

Somewhere along the line Rees Jones did snap on his seatbelts. The exact events are not recalled by the bodyguard. It was a last minute substitute car. There have been seatbelts that are able to be buckled up but don't reach around the person in the car.

The inquest report said that none of the 4 passengers had their seatbelts on. The belts were working, how could they be buclked if they didn't fit around hte person in the car?

 

[Osipi]

There's a lot of reasons people don't buckle up. "Its only a short distance" is one of them.

Where I live, the roads within the mountain community is private land and the seat belt law doesn't really apply. Such was the case with a grandfather that picked up his grandchildren at a communal spot after school in a pickup truck and they were riding in the back. The grandfather was wearing flip flops and got one stuck on the gas pedal on a steep incline. He lost control of the car and his granddaughter flew out of the open cargo area in the back and lost her life. My husband was first on the scene and the child died in his care.

Seat belts saves lives. No matter how short the journey, buckling up ensures that your odds of getting to your destination increases.

 

[Denville]

There's a lot of reasons people don't buckle up. "Its only a short distance" is one of them.

Where I live, the roads within the mountain community is private land and the seat belt law doesn't really apply. Such was the case with a grandfather that picked up his grandchildren at a communal spot after school in a pickup truck and they were riding in the back. The grandfather was wearing flip flops and got one stuck on the gas pedal on a steep incline. He lost control of the car and his granddaughter flew out of the open cargo area in the back and lost her life. My husband was first on the scene and the child died in his care.

Seat belts saves lives. No matter how short the journey, buckling up ensures that your odds of getting to your destination increases.

THey dont always save lives, but they increase the odds. Its true that sometimes people dont buckle up even if it is their usual habit becuase "its only a short distance" or "its hot and the belts uncomfortable". It seems that Diana did usually buclke up but its possible with the stress of their departure from the hotel, caused by Dodi's messing around and the photographers being around, she was not concentrating or it did seem like just a short ride and she didn't do it...

 

[Osipi]

THey dont always save lives, but they increase the odds. Its true that sometimes people dont buckle up even if it is their usual habit becuase "its only a short distance" or "its hot and the belts uncomfortable". It seems that Diana did usually buclke up but its possible with the stress of their departure from the hotel, caused by Dodi's messing around and the photographers being around, she was not concentrating or it did seem like just a short ride and she didn't do it...

Or... by leaving in a clandestine manner from the back of the hotel with a decoy in front, it felt "safe". We'll never know the real reason why she didn't buckle up. In the back seat where she was though, its probable that when the crash happened, she wouldn't have been thrown around so badly that her heart was so displaced. She ended up landing on the floor of the back seat whereas the seat belt would have restricted her movement. Dodi was killed instantly.

Seat belts aren't a sure fire prevention against bodily harm but they do serve to minimalize bodily harm. Same with air bags. They protect but not 100% guarantee to prevent bodily harm.

 

[Denville]

Or... by leaving in a clandestine manner from the back of the hotel with a decoy in front, it felt "safe". We'll never know the real reason why she didn't buckle up. In the back seat where she was though, its probable that when the crash happened, she wouldn't have been thrown around so badly that her heart was so displaced. She ended up landing on the floor of the back seat whereas the seat belt would have restricted her movement. Dodi was killed instantly.

Seat belts aren't a sure fire prevention against bodily harm but they do serve to minimalize bodily harm. Same with air bags. They protect but not 100% guarantee to prevent bodily harm.

I think it was just that there had been all the stress of the day, Diana feeling uncomfortable... and wanting to get out of the hotel and back to soemwhere safe like Dodi's flat.. and then there had been the arguments about how they were going to leave the hotel. A car journey is still potentially dangerous even if you leave in a decoy car, so yes, if she'd had the belt on, she would not have been thrown around in the car and wound up on the floor...
I think she was just tired out, got in the car with a feeling of relief that at last they were on their way back to the flat... adn she could relax...but Henri Paul took off fast and the paps followed....

 

[Roslyn]

I think it was just that there had been all the stress of the day, Diana feeling uncomfortable... and wanting to get out of the hotel and back to soemwhere safe like Dodi's flat.. and then there had been the arguments about how they were going to leave the hotel. A car journey is still potentially dangerous even if you leave in a decoy car, so yes, if she'd had the belt on, she would not have been thrown around in the car and wound up on the floor...
I think she was just tired out, got in the car with a feeling of relief that at last they were on their way back to the flat... adn she could relax...but Henri Paul took off fast and the paps followed....

Putting on a seat belt is second nature to me and I feel most uneasy if, for some reason, I cannot wear one, regardless of how short the journey is. I cannot think of one valid reason to not wear a seat belt if it is fitted and I will never understand why Diana did not wear hers.

 

[Tarlita]

Diana's seat belt wasn't working, neither were working in the back seat.

 

[Curryong]

Of course I know that Diana wanted to quickly get away from the hotel, but I'm afraid there is no way I'd be getting into a car with broken seat belts (and what does that say about the general maintenance of the car fleet itself) especially if I knew there was likely to be a race with Paps pursuing the car I was in.

 

[Osipi]

And to think all these years I've had it backwards. I was under the impression that Diana didn't want to leave the hotel after eating but Dodi insisted on going to the apartment. I thought that by that time, Diana was just looking forward to flying home the next day and reuniting with her boys but Dodi insisted that they go.

This was the reason for calling in Henri Paul and he'd been drinking. It was a last minute, spur of the moment thing of Dodi's to head to the apartment and no one was prepared or advised ahead of time that this was the plan.

If only they'd stayed put.

 

[TLLK]

Diana's seat belt wasn't working, neither were working in the back seat.

I recall reading that two separate investigations concluded that the seatbelts were in working order.

 

[Rayal]

Diana's seat belt wasn't working, neither were working in the back seat.

From the official British Police investigation in 2004:

CHAPTER SIX Seats Seat belt assemblies Air-bags His full technical report is in the possession Operation Paget. Key Points 1. Seat BeltsFrench Dossier D5675-D5680The French investigators examined the seat belt systems and determined that none were being worn at the time of the crash apart from the front right seat belt. The suggestion was made that Trevor Rees-Jones may have been in the process of putting on his seat belt at the moment of impact. The report did not indicate that the seat belt systems were examined to ascertain whether they were in a serviceable condition. Operation Paget’s view is that none of the seat belts were being worn at the time of the impact, including that of Trevor Rees-Jones. From the nature of marks found on his seat belt, it is considered unlikely that he was even in the process of attempting to put it on at all at the time of the crash. David Price’s examination of the seat belts showed that they were in a good operational condition with the exception of the rear right seat belt, which was found to be jammed in the retracted position because part of the internal mechanism had become displaced. In relation to this finding, the evidence strongly supports this displacement occurring after the collision. This was confirmed by direct contact with the French expert, Serge Moreau. He found it to be in proper working order at the time of his examination in October 1998. He also confirmed that all the seat belts were in a serviceable condition after the crash. (Operation Paget Message 947)

 

[TLLK]

Thank you for sharing the information. This is what I recall reading.

 

[Rayal]

Since some people say, "Well they would have had to undo the seat belts to remove the bodies." The inspection also includes examination of the ECU (electronic control module also known as the computer) and one of the many things it records is the connection of the seat belt assemblies which have sensors attached to them. As a professional warranty administrator I have had to inspect these as well for defects etc.

 

[Rayal]

One last thing and then I will pipe down. Trevor Rees Jones the body guard that survived was in the right front seat location and did not have his seat belt on. So how did he survive? The air bags deployed as designed, however, because he didn't have on his seat belt he was propelled forward and upward. His face hit the the windshield even though his torso was restrained by the air bag system. This was why he had so many critical injuries and why he does not remember anything from the crash. His facial injuries were horrendous and broke nearly every bone in his face.

 

[Tarlita]

One of the many documentaries I have seen over the years examined the car minutely and they said the rear seat belts were not working.

 

[TLLK]

Since some people say, "Well they would have had to undo the seat belts to remove the bodies." The inspection also includes examination of the ECU (electronic control module also known as the computer) and one of the many things it records is the connection of the seat belt assemblies which have sensors attached to them. As a professional warranty administrator I have had to inspect these as well for defects etc.

Thank you for the explanation.

 

[Denville]

Of course I know that Diana wanted to quickly get away from the hotel, but I'm afraid there is no way I'd be getting into a car with broken seat belts (and what does that say about the general maintenance of the car fleet itself) especially if I knew there was likely to be a race with Paps pursuing the car I was in.

There is no evidence that the Belts weren't working.. I agree that if they weren't it doesn't speak well of the Ritz's maintenance of their cars. But if Diana habitually put on her seat belt and it didn't work, then surely she would have known immediately and might have complained to Dodi and said they should get another car. but I think that it had been a tense evening and she was tired and perhaps she just didn't think.. and while she usually put on her belt it wasn't an absolute that she did so.. there might be times when she might forget or not think of it. Dodi didn't put on his...

 

[Denville]

One of the many documentaries I have seen over the years examined the car minutely and they said the rear seat belts were not working.

The Paget report stated otherwise...

 

[Roslyn]

Of course I know that Diana wanted to quickly get away from the hotel, but I'm afraid there is no way I'd be getting into a car with broken seat belts (and what does that say about the general maintenance of the car fleet itself) especially if I knew there was likely to be a race with Paps pursuing the car I was in.

This is the thing. She knew they were likely to be chased and that there would be driving at speed and/or in dangerous conditions. I am surprised she did not wear her seat belt. I am sure I would have if the belt worked and that I would not have driven in the car if the belt did not work. But it is easy for us to say these things; we weren't there, feeling the things that they were feeling at the time. The behaviour of those damn photographers on their motor bikes was horrible and they placed everyone involved at risk on so many occasions. I do not understand why Diana and Dodi did not stay put. They were safe at the hotel if they had stayed in their room. What a terrible shame they felt the need to travel away from there!

 

[Pranter]

So many unanswered questions about their decisions that night.


LaRae

 

[Betsypaige]

Not only wouldn't I get in a car if the seatbelts weren't working, I wouldn't allow anyone in my car unless they wore one. This idea some have that if you're in the backseat you're protected is insane.

 

[Rayal]

I should mention that the Mercedes-Benz W140 involved in the crash was owned by Etoile Limousines and they had parked it in the parking building next to the Ritz. The paparazzi knew the license plate number by heart of Dodi's Mercedes-Benz W140 and they used it as a decoy and parked it out front of the hotel. The second Mercedes-Benz W140 from the parking garage was never used before this night. Its history was that it had been in a major crash two years before. It then was stolen and stripped. Rebuilt again and Etoile Limousines bought it, Since the crash a Mr. Musa owns it but it is still in French police custody. Mr. Musa wants to put it in a museum here in the states. Personally I would like to see it completely and privately destroyed for the sake of her two sons and for all the families involved.