Motorcycle Swerved At Diana Crash

Evidence has been heard that a motorcycle following Princess Diana's Mercedes swerved to avoid the car as it crashed in a Paris tunnel.

The Inquest has heard from a French motorist, Grigori Rassinier, who was travelling in the opposite direction on August 31, 1997, and witnessed the bike emerge from the smoke which engulfed the Pont de l'Alma underpass and quickly leave the scene without stopping.

A statement from Mr Rassinier was read to the High Court in London which said he saw Diana crushed against the front seat with her hand raised and that the Mercedes was "juddering" in the immediate aftermath.

The statement said: "The interior light of the crashed car was on. As result I could see two heads in the back of the car.

"Immediately afterwards I heard a hooter followed by the sound of braking and then saw a motorbike emerge from the smoke. It swerved as if it were avoiding the crashed car.

"This motorcycle left very quickly after having executed the swerve. It seems improbable that the motorcycle stopped before setting off again."

Mr Rassinier, who is a photographer, described seeing a figure who later proved to be Diana in the wreckage.

"I noticed that the rear right hand passenger was a woman. She had her hand raised and was crushed against the front seat," he said.

He added of the car: "My impression is one of seeing a few milliseconds of vibration or juddering giving me a clear sense that the impact had only just occurred."

Mr Rassinier continued driving, but he said: "I asked myself whether I could be useful doing something, but as I had passed the accident and there were lots of people beginning to descend (into the tunnel), I thought that one more person without any skills would not be of any use."

Diana and lover Dodi Fayed were killed, along with driver Henri Paul, following the crash in Paris on August 31, 1997.

(BMcC)