August 31, 1997, the worlds most famous car crash took place in Paris.
The accident occurred as Diana, along with her partner Dodi Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul, were trying to evade pursuing paparazzi.
The Mercedes-Benz S 280 Saloon they were in crashed in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel. While Paul and Fayed were pronounced dead at the scene, Diana was rushed to the hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries. Her bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, survived with severe injuries.
The Final Words: A Moment of Confusion and Fear
“She looked at me and said, ‘Oh my God, what’s happened?’” Gourmelon recalled. He tried to reassure her, telling her they would take care of her.
However, she soon lost consciousness again. Gourmelon noted that she was initially conscious and agitated before slipping into unconsciousness, still trapped in the mangled vehicle.
A Firefighter’s Encounter with Tragedy
Firefighter Xavier Gourmelon, one of the first responders on the scene, recounted his experience during an interview on the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death.
Gourmelon and his team arrived without initially knowing the identities of the victims inside the wreckage. He vividly remembers Diana’s final words as she lay injured in the car.
A Fight to Save a Princess
After removing her from the car, Diana went into cardiac arrest. Gourmelon and his team administered CPR, and after 20 seconds, she regained a faint pulse.
Despite his initial hope that she could recover, her condition worsened. She was transferred to the hospital, where she suffered another cardiac arrest that she could not be revived from.
Investigations and Aftermath
A French investigation concluded that Henri Paul, who was found to be almost four times over the legal alcohol limit, was responsible for the crash.
A British inquest later ruled Diana’s death as unlawful killing due to grossly negligent driving by Paul and the relentless pursuit of the paparazzi.
This tragic incident remains one of the most poignant and heartbreaking moments in recent history, marked forever by the loss of the beloved Princess of Wales and the haunting recollection of her final words.