One decision before Princess Diana's 1997 fatal crash could have saved her life, according to investigative crime journalist Jakson Buhaj. Buhaj, host of FOX's "Celebrity Crime Scene: Princess Diana," stated that the lack of seat belt use in the vehicle significantly contributed to the tragedy.
On August 31, 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died alongside her companion Dodi Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul, when their Mercedes crashed at high speed in a Paris tunnel while being pursued by paparazzi. Diana was 36 years old and the mother of two.
The special "Celebrity Crime Scene: Princess Diana," which airs August 20, uses modern recreation technology to reconstruct the events surrounding the crash. Buhaj, along with forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes and former U.S. Secret Service agent Rich Staropoli, revisits the evidence and explores theories about the incident.
"It's very odd that no one was wearing a seat belt," Buhaj told Fox News Digital. "You would think that [Dodi Fayed's bodyguard] Trevor Rees-Jones, who was sitting in the front seat directly ahead of Diana ... would caution her that she should definitely put a seat belt on, considering the car is driving way over the speed limit. ... Yet no one thinks to do that."
Rees-Jones, who accompanied Diana and Fayed on their final trip, was employed as a bodyguard for Fayed's family, not as Diana's official protection. Buhaj believes that if everyone had been wearing seat belts, Diana likely would have survived, though Paul and Fayed might not have.
"And I think that’s something that really stuck with me after we wrapped filming, that there is a whole other timeline out there where a seat belt could have saved Princess Diana," Buhaj said.
Initially, it was widely reported that Rees-Jones survived because he was the only one wearing a seat belt. However, the official British inquiry concluded that no one in the car was wearing one when it crashed. In 2006, Lord Stevens of the official British police inquiry stated that Diana, Fayed, and Paul might not have died had they been wearing seat belts, according to The Guardian.
Henri Paul, the driver, was scheduled to be off duty that night. His blood alcohol level was later found to be more than three times the French legal limit, according to People magazine. Despite this, surveillance video did not show obvious signs of intoxication, and several witnesses reported nothing unusual about his behavior.
Reports indicate that Paul taunted photographers, saying, "You won’t catch up with us." As he accelerated, he was unable to evade the pursuing paparazzi on motorcycles and scooters.
"There are many, many things that could have prevented the death of Princess Diana," Buhaj stated. "I think getting into that car with Henri Paul was a death sentence for Princess Diana. ... And had she not done that, she could still be with us today."
The Mercedes collided with the 13th concrete pillar of the Pont de l'Alma underpass shortly after midnight. The vehicle then struck the tunnel wall before coming to a stop. In the front of the car, airbags were covered in blood, and Paul's body was found pressing the horn, as reported by People.
Paul and Fayed died at the scene, while Rees-Jones sustained critical injuries. Diana was found severely injured on the floor of the wreckage. Photographers gathered at the crash site and began taking pictures.
Buhaj also noted concern over the approximately one hour and 40 minutes that passed between the crash and Diana's arrival at the hospital. French emergency medical teams adhere to a protocol that prioritizes stabilizing critically injured patients at the scene before transport. Diana also needed to be extricated from the wreckage and went into cardiac arrest before being placed in the ambulance.
Even after departure, the ambulance driver was instructed to proceed slowly due to Diana's unstable condition. The ambulance stopped at one point when her blood pressure dropped.
Diana, whose heart had been restarted once, was attended by a team of about 20 doctors and nurses. She experienced another cardiac arrest. During surgery, physicians discovered a ruptured pulmonary vein and significant internal bleeding. Despite efforts to repair the vein and control the bleeding, doctors were unable to restart her heart, and she was pronounced dead at 4 a.m.
In the years leading up to her death, Diana had voiced concerns about her safety, believing she was being watched and that her phones might be tapped. She also privately wrote about fears of being harmed in a car crash.
"People in her close circle described her as quite paranoid," Buhaj said. "... She is the most famous person on the planet. ... So not only are billions of people across the world glued to the screen whenever she appears on it, but she’s also constantly having to look over her shoulder out of fear."
Buhaj added, "I think what I learned about her paranoia coming away from the special was that she had an extremely strained relationship, not just with her husband, but with the entire royal family. And I think that played a huge role in that paranoia."
However, according to the Operation Paget investigation, several individuals close to Diana stated she did not appear anxious about her safety in the weeks preceding the crash.
Diana had previously expressed concerns about a potential staged car crash. In a handwritten note, she alleged that then-Prince Charles was planning such an incident. The note was written during a period of separation and divorce from Charles, amid rumors of an affair between the prince and their children's nanny.
Charles later informed Operation Paget investigators that he was unaware of the note and did not understand Diana's fears, according to The Guardian. Ultimately, British investigators found no evidence to support claims that Diana's death was part of a deliberate plot.
Decades after her death, Buhaj maintains that Diana remains "the people’s princess." He noted her ability to connect with the public, citing her walk through a minefield in Angola and her outreach to children with AIDS, actions he suggested the royal family would not have considered. "It immortalized her in a way where she was this polarizing figure who was one of the people. And I don’t think that will ever change," Buhaj said.