Nexus - 1504 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

The Following Vehicles Guizard drove a grey Peugeot 205; Odekerken drove a After this decision by the Coroner, the jury was left with five Mitsubishi Pajero; Martinez and Arnal were in a black Fiat Uno; possible verdicts (31.24-25, 32.1-6): Rat and Darmon were on a blue Honda 650 motorcycle; and 1) unlawful killing (grossly negligent driving of the following Chassery drove a black Peugeot 205 (94.3-10). This evidence vehicles); shows that of the paparazzi pursuing the Mercedes, there was 2) unlawful killing (grossly negligent driving of the actually only one motorbike, a Honda 650. All the other Mercedes); pursuing paparazzi were either in cars or on a scooter. 3) unlawful killing (grossly negligent driving of the following On 7 November 2007, Paget accident investigator Anthony vehicles and of the Mercedes); Read revealed to the inquest that French investigators had 4) accidental death; conducted tests on the performance of a Honda 650, comparing it 5) open verdict. with the Mercedes $280 (afternoon, 103). They found that at full In giving these options, the Coroner also removed the acceleration over 1,400 metres, the Honda 650 was the possibility of the Mercedes's contact with the white Fiat Uno— equivalent of 17 per cent slower than the Mercedes. Darmon, which was travelling ahead of the Mercedes as it entered the who was driving the Honda, gave evidence to the inquest (29 tunnel—having an influence on the crash. During the inquest, October, afternoon) that he lost sight of the Mercedes after he clear forensic evidence was shown that proved the Mercedes was turned right, onto the expressway, after leaving Place de la involved in a collision with this car. Because the Fiat Uno was in Concorde. With Rat his enger, they were the first of the front of the Mercedes, it cannot be included in the term paparazzi to arrive at the crash scene. "following vehicles" in the possible verdict provided to the jury. After analysing the evidence, it becomes very clear that it is Baker has failed to explain why he removed the Fiat Uno from quite impossible for any of the motorbikes surrounding or closely suspicion as a possible cause of the crash. pursuing the Mercedes as it entered the Alma Tunnel to have As discussed earlier, the jury chose the third option: "unlawful carried paparazzi. Instead, the motorbikes were unidentified— killing (grossly negligent driving of the following vehicles and of which is why they have been described in the jury's verdict the Mercedes)". simply as "the following vehicles". The reason that the description is It is clear, however, from early "following vehicles" is because eyewitness evidence that camera these vehicles remain unidentified. After analysing the evidence, Hashes were een on the expressway is therefore very surprising that in F 4 just before the Alma Tunnel: virtually every media report it becomes very clear that it * Bruno Bouaziz, a French police describing the jury verdict, the is quite impossible for any of lieutenant, said in his 31 August 1997 words "following vehicles" have statement, which was read out to the been replaced by the word the motorbikes surrounding or jury on the afternoon of 12 "paparazzi". There is actually no i November 2007: "Witnesses told the evidence which indicates that these closely pursuing the Mercedes first police to arrive at the scene that vehicles were in fact driven by as it entered the Alma Tunnel the Princess's car was travelling at paparazzi. H i high speed, chased by photographers Eyewitnesses near the Alma to have carried paparazzi. on motorcycles. Others saw the Tunnel described several motorbikes Mercedes slowed down by a Ford closely pursuing or surrounding the Mondeo vehicle so that Mercedes as it entered the tunnel: photographers riding motorcycles could take photographs" * Olivier Partouche, a chauffeur who was standing near his car (118.18-23). across the road from the tunnel, witnessed a Mercedes * Olivier Partouche said in a statement taken six hours after the "immediately followed by a number of motorcycles" (24 crash: "...I think that I saw flashes before the vehicles October, morning, 6.9-10). disappeared into the underpass" (24 October, morning, 26.1-3). * Francois Levistre, who was travelling ahead of the Mercedes, * Clifford Gooroovadoo, who was standing near Partouche, described seeing through his rear-vision mirror a "vehicle said in his first statement, taken two hours after the crash, that he surrounded on either side by motorbikes" in his first statement "saw a motorbike with two people on it and also saw that the made to French police on 1 September 1997, one day after the pillion passenger of this motorbike was taking one photo after crash (Paget Report, p. 455; also see inquest transcript, 15 another in the direction of the vehicle that was making the noise October, afternoon). [the Mercedes]" (12 March 2008, morning, 76.20-23). ¢ Brian Anderson, who was travelling in a taxi that was ¢ Benoit Boura (24 October, morning) was travelling overtaken by the speeding vehicles, described three motorbikes eastbound (the opposite way to the Mercedes) towards the Alma that "were in a cluster, like a swarm around the Mercedes" (17 Tunnel. He said in his second statement of 31 August 1997 that October, afternoon, 98.24-25). "before all this [the crash] happened, therefore before entering Thus the eyewitness evidence clearly shows that the "following the tunnel, I saw flashes in the distance" (Paget Report, p. 454). vehicles" mentioned in the jury verdict are in fact several On the morning of 27 November 2007, Baker himself stated: motorbikes that were seen very close to the Mercedes as it "Lam very interested in trying to find any...photographs showing entered the Alma Tunnel. the journey of the Mercedes before the collision" (48.12-15). On the afternoon of 2 October 2007, Scott Baker identified It is evident that if these photos of Diana and Dodi's final eight paparazzi who were near the Mercedes as it left Place de la moments before the crash had been taken by paparazzi, then they Concorde. They were Benhamou, Guizard, Odekerken, would be worth millions of pounds and somehow they would Martinez, Arnal, Rat, Darmon and Chassery (95.10-11). It was have surfaced after the crash—whether in newspapers, TV or also revealed that Benhamou rode a green Honda scooter; over the Internet. But no such photos have ever been published. After analysing the evidence, it becomes very clear that it is quite impossible for any of the motorbikes surrounding or closely pursuing the Mercedes as it entered the Alma Tunnel JUNE — JULY 2008 NEXUS 29 to have carried paparazzi. www.nexusmagazine.com