Report: Diana's Death a 'Tragic Accident'

A long-awaited British police inquiry into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, concludes that the car crash that killed her and Dodi Fayed in August 1997 was a "tragic accident" -- caused by a driver whose blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit and who was driving more than twice the speed limit.

Although it will probably not end the rumors and conspiracy theories surrounding the Princess' death, the report concludes that allegations of murder are unfounded, Diana was not pregnant, and she was not engaged to be married to Fayed at the time of her death.

"Our conclusion is that, on all the evidence available at this time, there was no conspiracy to murder any of the occupants of the car. This was a tragic accident," said Lord John Stevens, former chief of the Metropolitan Police, who led the investigation. "There was no conspiracy, and no cover-up."

Diana, 36, and Fayed, 42, were killed along with chauffeur Henri Paul when their Mercedes crashed in the Pont d'Alma tunnel in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997, while being chased by photographers. Bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones was seriously injured in the crash, but survived.

Victim of Drunk Driver

Stevens' investigation for the most part confirms the findings by French investigators who came to the same conclusion that the crash was caused by a drunken driver who was driving too fast.

"We can say with certainty that the car hit the curb just before the 13th pillar of the central reservation in the Alma underpass, at a speed of 61 to 63 miles per hour," Stevens said. "Nothing in the very rapid sequence of events we have reconstructed supports the allegation of conspiracy to murder."

The publication of Stevens' report proceeds an official inquest into Diana's death which was convened and swiftly adjourned in 2004. The inquest is scheduled to formally resume next year with preliminary hearings set Jan. 8-9 at the Royal Courts of Justice.

Stevens' complete 871-page report is available online in PDF format.

More Information:

• Report Rules Diana's Death an Accident
  
• No Question Henri Paul Was Drunk
  
• Princess Diana Foresaw Her Death?