Diana car ‘may have had a bump’

Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997

Princess Diana’s Mercedes may have suffered a “bump” with another large, dark car as it entered the Paris tunnel where it crashed, witnesses have said.Jean-Claude Catheline and his wife Annick told the inquest into the deaths Diana and Dodi Fayed they saw two cars enter the tunnel side-by-side.

They heard the sound of a collision as they walked near the underpass entrance in the early hours of 31 August 1997.

Speaking via videolink, they said they heard tyres screech moments later.

The couple, who were speaking from Paris, told the inquest sitting at the High Court in London: “As soon as the car disappeared from our view we heard what sounded like the bodywork bumping, I think that this noise was before the car entered the tunnel.”

‘Screeching’ tyres

An excerpt from his original police statement was read to the court by Richard Horwell QC.

The statement read: “Almost immediately I heard a second noise, very, very loud, quite different from the first, it was a dull noise and followed by a second, identical noise.”

And, as he addressed the court, Mr Catheline said: “I heard the tyres screeching on the road.”

The couple had been walking back to their car from the Eiffel Tower nearby following a night out when they witnessed events moments before the accident in the Pont de L’Alma tunnel that killed the princess and her lover.

‘Very fast’

Mrs Catheline told the court: “When they were already in the tunnel, under the bridge we heard noises like two cars bumping each other.”

Her son-in-law – David Le Ny – who had been with the couple, along with their daughter, remembered seeing a large dark car speeding towards them into the tunnel.

He said: “It was going very fast, I remember the noise coming from the engine… I certainly made a comment, stating that they were crazy or something like that.”