PARIS (AP) – The woman was crumpled on the floor of a wrecked Mercedes, unconscious and struggling to breathe. The French doctor had no idea who she was and focused on trying to save her.
Twentyfive years later, Frederic Mailliez is still scarred by what happened in the Alma tunnel in Paris on August 31, 1997, and the realization that he was one of the last people to see the princess alive diana
“I realize that my name will always be attached to this tragic night,” Mailliez, who was returning home from a party when she encountered the car crash, told The Associated Press. “I feel a little responsible for his last moments.”
As fans of Britain and Diana around the world mark a quarter of a century since her death, Mailliez explained the aftermath of the accident.
That night, Mailliez was driving towards the tunnel when he saw a smoking Mercedes almost split in two.
“I walked over to the wreckage. I opened the door and looked inside,” he said.
What he saw: “Four people, two of them were apparently dead, unresponsive, not breathing, and the other two, on the right side, were alive but in serious condition. The front passenger was screaming, breathing. I could wait a few minutes. And the passenger, the lady, was on her knees on the floor of the Mercedes, her head was down. He was having difficulty breathing. I needed help fast. “
He ran to his car to call 911 and grab a breathing bag.
“I was unconscious,” he said. “Thanks to my breathing bag (…) he regained a little more energy, but he couldn’t say anything.”
The doctor would later break the news, along with the rest of the world, that the woman he treated was Diana, Britain’s national treasure adored by millions.
“I know it’s surprising, but I didn’t recognize Princess Diana,” he said. “I was in the car in the back seat helping. I noticed she was very beautiful, but my attention was so focused on what I had to do to save her life, I didn’t have time to think about who this woman was.” .
“Someone behind me told me that the victims were speaking English, so I started speaking English, saying I was a doctor and called an ambulance,” he said. “I tried to comfort her.”
As he worked, he noticed the flash of the light bulbs of the cameras, of the paparazzi gathered to document the scene. A British inquest found that Diana’s chauffeur, Henri Paul, was drunk and speeding to elude pursuing photographers.
Mailliez said he had “no qualms” about the photographers’ actions after the accident. “I was not prevented from having access to the victims. … I didn’t ask them for help, but they didn’t interfere with my work.”
Firefighters arrived quickly and Diana was taken to a Paris hospital, where she died a few hours later. His companion Dodi Fayed and the driver also died.
“It was a huge shock to learn that it was Princess Diana and that she died,” Mailliez said. Then the selfdoubt began. “Did I do everything I could to save her? Did I do my job right?” he asked himself. “I consulted with my medical professors and with police investigators,” he said, and they agreed that he did everything he could.
The anniversary brings back those memories, but they also come back “every time I drive through the Alma Tunnel,” he said.
As Mailliez spoke, standing atop the tunnel, cars raced in and out past the pillar where she crashed, now stenciled with Diana’s face.
The nearby Flame of Liberty monument has become a memorial site that attracts Diana fans of all generations and nationalities. She has become a timeless figure of emancipation and a fashion icon even for those born after her death.
Irinia Ouahvi, a 16yearold Parisian visiting the flame, said she knows Diana through TikTok videos and her mother.
“Even with her style she was a feminist. He defied royal etiquette, wearing biker shorts and casual pants,” said Ouahvi.
Francine Rose, a 16yearold Dutch girl who stopped at Diana’s memorial while on a bicycle trip to Paris, discovered her story thanks to “The Princess,” a recent movie starring Kristen Stewart.
“It’s an inspiration because I was evolving in the strict household, the royal family, and I just wanted to be free,” Rose said.
___
Nicolas Garriga and Jeffrey Schaeffer contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death at https://apnews.com/hub/princessdiana