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| S P E C I A L S: | Diana: A Remembrance |
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Fiat Uno's link to Diana crash disputed
February 13, 1998
Princess Diana
Web posted at: 11:53 a.m. EST (1653 GMT)PARIS (CNN) -- French police said Friday they are re-examining a white Fiat Uno that may have been involved in the Paris crash that killed Britain's Princess Diana, her boyfriend Dodi Fayed and the driver.
Detectives working for Mohamed al-Fayad, Dodi Fayed's father, said Paris police had inspected the car earlier, and wrongly ruled it out of the investigation.
But according to a police source who spoke on condition of anonymity, the car did not correspond to the exact model and color of the one authorities were looking for.
The car was "formally excluded from the case," the source said.
Pierre Ottavioli, a private investigator working for Fayed's father told The Associated Press that the car, found in a garage near Tours, southwest of Paris, was owned by a photographer known to follow celebrity news. The car's owner sold it to the garage last year, although the sale date is under contention.
The Fiat "belonged to a photo-journalist who was very interested in the Princess of Wales," said Ottavioli, who also is a former police commissioner.
The car was damaged on the left-rear fender and was repainted, he said.
Paris police launched an intensive search beginning in early November for a white Fiat Uno believed to have collided with the black Mercedes carrying Diana, which crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel on August 31.
Police are examining a white Fiat Uno like this one Their investigation led them to check out thousands of cars in the Paris area.
Al-Fayed family sought second look
Al-Fayed's lawyer, Georges Kiejman, wrote investigating judge Herve Stephan recently and asked him to take a second look at the car the private detectives had found at the garage, a source close to the investigation said.
In the letter, the lawyer also expressed astonishment that the former owner of the vehicle was never questioned by investigators.
Kiejman also said Friday that the car belonged to a journalist. But he cautioned: "It's much too early to ask questions since we don't have the answers."
Al-Fayed's investigators say the car was sold to the garage in November, but police contend it was sold before the fatal crash, another reason they eliminated it from their inquiry.
"We've double-checked out information about the car, and we've let the investigating judge know," private investigator Michel Karbois said.
Photographers' role still unknown
If the latest report on the Fiat is confirmed by French investigators, the report could again raise questions about what role, if any, photographers played in chasing the Mercedes and possibly causing it to crash.
Based on forensic evidence from the accident, investigators believe the Mercedes driven by Henri Paul grazed a Fiat just before crashing at high speed into the concrete pillar of the Paris road tunnel.
Witnesses reported seeing a white car zigzagging out of the tunnel at the time of the late-night crash, and bits of paint and shards of glass found at the accident scene have been identified as probably coming from a Fiat Uno.
Investigators tentatively have concluded that excessive speed and alcohol were primarily to blame for the crash. The investigation found that Paul was traveling at a high rate of speed and had a criminal level of alcohol in his blood at the time of the crash.
Al-Fayed, as a civil party to the investigation, has access to the investigators' case file.
Paris Bureau Chief Peter Humi and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Dodi's dad says fatal wreck was no accident - February 12, 1998
- Diana and Dodi: The Romance
- New book says Diana, Dodi planned to marry - February 7, 1998
- Investigators skeptical over reports of Diana 'mystery car' - February 2, 1998
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