Nearly 30 years after Princess Diana’s fatal car crash in Paris, a new television special is taking another look at the evidence surrounding her final night.
“Celebrity Crime Scene: Princess Diana,” which aired on FOX on August 20 and is now streaming on Hulu, uses modern recreation technology to reconstruct the August 31, 1997 crash. Investigative crime journalist Jakson Buhaj is joined by British forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes and former U.S. Secret Service agent Rich Staropoli as they examine the evidence, questions and theories that have persisted for decades.
The special reportedly examines driver Henri Paul’s condition that night and two vehicles spotted around the Pont de l’Alma tunnel. However, official investigations have previously concluded that Diana’s death resulted from the crash and have not established that she was intentionally killed.
One detail stood out to Buhaj as he revisited the evidence: Diana was not wearing a seat belt.
Princess Diana Investigator Says Seat Belt Detail ‘Really Stuck With Me’
Diana, 36, was traveling with companion Dodi Fayed, Paul and Fayed’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones when their Mercedes crashed into a concrete pillar in the Pont de l’Alma underpass while being pursued by photographers.
“It’s very odd that no one was wearing a seat belt,” Buhaj told Fox News Digital. “You would think that [Dodi Fayed’s bodyguard] Trevor Rees-Jones, who was sitting in the front seat directly ahead of Diana … would caution her that she should definitely put a seat belt on, considering the car is driving way over the speed limit. … Yet no one thinks to do that.”
It was once widely reported that Rees-Jones survived because he had been wearing his seat belt. However, the official British investigation later concluded that none of the Mercedes’ occupants were wearing one.
Buhaj believes that single decision could have dramatically changed what happened.
“What I think is the most tragic thing about this is that had everyone been wearing their seat belt, unfortunately, Henri Paul and Dodi Fayed probably would’ve passed away, but Diana most likely still would’ve been with us,” he said.
“And I think that’s something that really stuck with me after we wrapped filming, that there is a whole other timeline out there where a seat belt could have saved Princess Diana.”
Following the official British police investigation in 2006, Lord Stevens similarly said Diana, Fayed and Paul might have survived had they been wearing seat belts, according to The Guardian.
New Special Revisits Questions About Princess Diana’s Final Night
Paul had not originally been scheduled to work that night. Tests performed after the crash found his blood alcohol level was more than three times France’s legal limit, according to People. However, surveillance footage reportedly did not show obvious signs of intoxication before the group left the Ritz, and witnesses said they did not notice anything unusual about his behavior.
“There are many, many things that could have prevented the death of Princess Diana,” Buhaj told Fox News Digital. “I think getting into that car with Henri Paul was a death sentence for Princess Diana. … And had she not done that, she could still be with us today.”
The Mercedes struck the 13th concrete pillar inside the underpass shortly after midnight. Paul and Fayed died at the scene, while Rees-Jones survived with serious injuries.
Diana remained alive following the crash and received extensive treatment from French emergency responders. Medical teams worked to stabilize her at the scene before transporting her to the hospital, consistent with the French emergency medical approach at the time. Her condition remained unstable during transport, and the ambulance stopped at one point when her blood pressure dropped.
Doctors later discovered massive internal bleeding and a ruptured pulmonary vein. Despite extensive efforts to save her, Diana was pronounced dead at 4 a.m.
“Celebrity Crime Scene: Princess Diana” also revisits Diana’s concerns about her personal safety in the years before the crash. Buhaj said examining those concerns offered additional context about the enormous pressures surrounding one of the world’s most recognizable women.
Decades later, he said Diana’s connection with the public remains unmistakable, describing her by the nickname that has followed her for years: “the people’s princess.”
“Celebrity Crime Scene: Princess Diana” is now streaming on Hulu.
