Ritz Hotel to Face Charges in Diana Crash?

French authorities may be considering filing charges against the Paris Ritz Hotel in connection with the death of Princess Diana, while Henry Paul's former employers continue to try to distance themselves from responsibility of their driver's actions.

Meanwhile, a Paris judge finally released Paul's body for burial to his family, who continues to insist that he was not drinking the night of the crash, in spite of all evidence to the contrary.

An NBC News correspondent reported that investigators were considering filing charges against managers at the Paris Ritz hotel, owned by Dodi Fayed's family. In France employers are often held responsible for the actions of their employees.

The charges against the Ritz could range from negligence to endangering someone's life.

According to the NBC reporter, the Ritz management was aware that Paul had a drinking problem but said it's unclear what extent they knew he was drunk the night of the accident.

Another report said when police searched the home of Henri Paul they found a nearly empty bottle of Vermouth, a sweet wine used chiefly with gin to mix Martinis.

NBC also reported that Paul talked to photographers outside the hotel the night of the accident and one photographer said Paul was incoherent.

Meanwhile, ABC News reported that Trevor Rees-Jones, the bodyguard who survived the crash, may be suffering from amnesia. Rees-Jones, under tight guard in intensive care in a Paris hospital since the Aug. 31 crash, is still unable to communicate except by batting his eyelids in response to questions, Le Figaro said.

In London, The Mirror newspaper quoted his mother as saying his jaw was still wired shut, that he was unconscious most of the time, and that he had not yet been told Diana and Fayed were dead.

"My Son Wasn't an Alcoholic!"

As Henri Paul's mother continued to deny that her son was drinking while driving Princess Diana, the Fayed family lawyer suddenly has begun to put distance between the Ritz Hotel and its No. 2 security man by denying any knowledge of a drinking problem.

According to an ABC News report Paul's mother said in an interview published Thursday that her son did not suffer from alcoholism or depression. "My son wasn't an alcoholic," the daily Le Figaro quoted Gisele Paul. "Can one imagine the Princess of Wales and Dodi Fayed agreeing to get in a car driven by someone who is drunk?"

Meanwhile, Bernard Dartevelle, lawyer for Mohamed Al Fayed, said the photographers were the "fundamental and determining" factor in the accident, but conceded that Henri Paul bore some responsibility for the crash, because of his blood alcohol level.

"No Responsibility..."

Dartevelle then hurried to say, "Al Fayed's Ritz Hotel, driver Henri Paul's employer, bore "no responsibility because management was unaware Paul was drunk and taking prescription drugs."

Putting further distance between the family's liability and Paul, a family spokesman said Al Fayed was "shocked, and would have fired Paul, 41, if he had known the No. 2 security man at the Ritz was under the influence of alcohol, Prozac and another prescription medication."

"He is appalled. He is outraged a man in that condition could get into a car and present himself for work in that way," Michael Cole told BBC radio. Cole said Paul would have been "summarily sacked on the spot" had Al Fayed been aware of any drinking problem.

The Fayed family stance on the issue is a complete reversal of its earlier position in defending Paul and releasing a Hotel video tape which they said proved that he was not too drunk to drive. But following a court-ordered third blood test the Fayed family apparently had no choice but to accept the results.

That test showed that Paul was not only more than three times over the legal blood alcohol level, but he was also taking Prozac and had been taking a drug sometimes used in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal.

Classic Symptoms?

But apparently Paul's family still continues its denial in the face of all evidence to the contrary. Although three blood tests have now confirmed a high level of alcohol in his blood, his mother continues to insist that he was not drinking, even though she was not there and has no real way of knowing whether he was drinking or not.

What we could be watching is a classic case of denial, an almost universal symptom of the family disease known as alcoholism.

An autopsy has now been performed on the body of Henri Paul, which could put the issue to rest once and for all, if it hasn't been already. No autopsies were done on Diana or Fayed. News reports also said no blood tests were done on Diana, but it is unclear whether any were done on Fayed.

More About Henri Paul

Bar-Hopping Driver?
A CNN and Time Magazine report has Paul bar-hopping from 4 p.m. until just before he got into the Mercedes.

Blood Alcohol Content
The latest blood test shows that Paul was not only drunk, he was also taking an antidepressant drug and may have stopped taking one prescribed for alcohol abuse.

Antidepressants and Alcohol
Diane Hunter examines the potency of this very dangerous "cocktail."

Conflicting Reports
In the early stages of the investigation, conflicting reports and finger-pointing dominated.

How Drunk Was He?
A study of just what it means to have a .175 blood alcohol content and try to drive.

Drunk Driving
Links to internet resources about the risks of drinking and driving.