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SEPTEMBER 10, 1997 SPECIAL REPORT: PRINCESS DIANA, 1961-1997 THE DRIVER: ON DRUGS? New blood tests on Henri Paul, the driver killed with Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed in a Paris car crash, confirmed he was legally drunk and also showed he had taken anti-depressant drugs that could have boosted the effect of the alcohol, a source close to the inquiry said Tuesday. The tests confirmed that Paul, whose family disputed initial reports that he was inebriated, had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit for driving, said the source, who asked not to be identified. Michael Cole, the spokesman for the Al Fayed family, who own the Ritz Hotel where Paul worked as a security guard, said he had not seen the latest blood test, but "if Mr. Paul is culpable, Mr. Mohamed Al Fayed will be the first to condemn him, because he has lost his eldest son and a very dear friend." A DOCTOR'S ACCOUNT When the first emergency medical workers reached Diana in the Pont de l'Alma traffic tunnel, she appeared to have suffered only relatively minor injuries and her face was untouched, says an unidentified doctor who treated Diana at the scene. His account appears in Wednesday's edition of the French tabloid Le Parisien. "She was very agitated, half-knocked out but conscious," said the doctor. Diana repeatedly murmured "Oh my God" as doctors and paramedics began to treat her injuries, firefighters sought to free her from the car and police pushed back the photographers who had been "taking pictures just a few centimeters from her face," the paper quoted the doctor as saying. "Leave me alone, leave me alone," Diana said, just before the oxygen mask was placed over her face and she lost consciousness, the doctor told Le Parisien. According to the paper, the ambulance taking her to Pitie-Salpetriere hospital traveled at only 25 mph on the orders of doctors who said it was imperative Diana not be jostled. The daily claimed the trip from the accident scene to the hospital took an hour. PRINCE CHARLES: A FATHER FIRST "The children must come first," a close aide to Prince Charles tells London's Sun tabloid. Charles is reportedly set to step up his paternal duties on behalf of his two motherless sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, with plans to spend more time with them -- even at amusement parks and fast-food restaurants. Their mother was insistent the boys mix with the general populace. Tuesday, Charles took his sons to the dentist, then on a shopping trip, followed by a visit to see horses at Windsor Castle, reports the New York Post. As for Charles' mistress Camilla Parker Bowles, "She is a very important part of his life but not one that can overlap with the children," a source told the Sun. |
-STEVEN M. SILVERMAN -PEOPLE DAILY | ||||||
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