Diana's car took off like a jet: Paparazzi bike rider tells of princess's last day

12 April 2012

A motorbike rider who was among Princess Diana's pursuers on the night of her death told yesterday how her Mercedes "took off like a plane" in busy traffic.

Stephane Darmon gave a dramatic paparazzo's-eye view of the day which ended with the death of the princess and her lover Dodi Fayed.

He told their High Court inquest how he was employed by a picture agency to ferry photographer Romuald Rat around Paris as he tried to snatch shots of the couple.

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Evidence: Stephane Darmon

After their chauffeur-driven Mercedes left the rear exit of the Ritz Hotel to give photographers the slip, Darmon said he and Rat spotted it at traffic lights on the Place de la Concorde.

When the lights turned green the limousine "accelerated radically - it just took off like a plane".

Moments later it crashed in the Alma underpass.

Darmon, interviewed by video link from Paris, was the first member of the paparazzi group to agree to give evidence to the inquest on the events of August 31,

1997.

He also told how:

Photographers were involved in a 'fierce fight' with French security men guarding the couple;

Diana's British bodyguards Trever Rees-Jones and Kez Wingfield told the paparazzi they would get 'good photo opportunities' as long as they kept their distance;

Chauffeur Henri Paul goaded photographers outside the front of the Ritz, telling them the score was '1-0' to him after a dummy run by another Mercedes had led them on a wild goose chase;

The behaviour of Paul, who had been drinking, reminded Darmon of his own alcoholic father.

Darmon, who is in his 30s, told the inquest that he had arrived in Paris from his home in the provinces ten days before the death crash and had been with the Gamma picture agency for just a week.

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Chaos: Paparazzi outside the Ritz on the night of Diana's death

He received a phone call telling him to pick up Rat on his 600cc Honda and head for Le Bourget airport, where Diana and Dodi were about to arrive from Sardinia.

When they arrived Darmon - who stressed that he was not a photographer - said paparazzi took snaps of the couple before following them in the Mercedes, which was in convoy with a 4x4 security vehicle, back into the centre of the French capital.

It was the first time he had ever followed a car like this before, he told the inquest, and all the paparazzi 'lost' the Mercedes when it suddenly shot off in one direction and they followed the security vehicle.

They next caught up with the couple at Dodi's apartment off the Champs Elysees - where Rat was involved in a 'fierce fight' with a French bodyguard.

After a conversation with Dodi's regular chauffeur, who had been "fairly chuffed" at losing the paparazzi on the way from the airport - Darmon said he spoke to

the British bodyguards.

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A witness saw the face of a man driving the mystery white Fiat Uno which collided with Princess Diana's car

He described it as a "good-natured chat" with the men, who wanted everything to go smoothly.

"They told me that there would be some good photoopportunities provided that people kept their distance and if so, everything would be fine."

A convoy of paparazzi followed Diana and Dodi back to the Ritz. Later, Darmon spotted Henri Paul at the front of the hotel where an excited crowd was gathering.

Paul seemed to be 'very joyful' when he came out to speak to the photographers, whom he appeared to know well. "On a very personal note, my father was an alcoholic and when I saw Mr Paul he reminded me of my father - his eyes, the way he reacted. That's what I thought."

The man who would drive Diana and Dodi to their death was also goading the paparazzi.

"He was playing a game with the photographers,' said Darmon. 'He was saying that Lady Diana was going to be there in a quarter of an hour. I think that he wanted to give wrong leads to the photographers - I had the impression that he wanted to be centre stage. He was trying to create a certain atmosphere of pressure and anticipation."

He described a "dummy run" when another Mercedes drove off from the front of the Ritz, prompting pandemonium amongst the photogranophers who thought the couple were about to leave - only for the vehicle to return quickly to its original position. Darmon said Paul later came over and boasted: "1-0 - I think he meant he had scored a point."

The motor-cyclist described the "panic" when the paparazzi discovered Diana and Dodi had left from the rear of the Ritz and said Rat jumped on the back of his Honda as they, and others, headed off in hot pursuit.

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Final chase: Diana can be seen checking on the pursuing paparazzi as chauffeur Henri Paul roars towards tunnel

After losing the Mercedes at the Place de la Concorde, said Darmon, he made attempt to chase it. "I am not a member of the press and it was out of the question for me to take any risks, so I just rode my bike normally."

He claimed he was travelling at only 50 to 60mph. "I have got a motorbike that is not that powerful and you have got to bear in mind that Mr Rat weighs over 100 kilos (almost 16stone)."

Several witnesses have already told the inquest how they saw the Mercedes approaching the tunnel surrounded by motorbikes only feet from its back bumper.

One motorist even provided a sketch map showing the Mercedes with four motorbikes on its tail but Darmon insists he never even saw the vehicle until he and Rat arrived in the underpass to hear the Mercedes horn sounding in the darkness.

He stopped a short distance past the wrecked limousine, fearing an explosion, and assumed his pillion rider and other paparazzi arriving quickly on the scene would help the stricken occupants.

"When I got back I was shocked by what I could see," he said.

"They were taking photographs. I couldn't see the car any more because the light (from their camera flashes) was so bright.

"I could hear the noise made by the different cameras and the flashes, it was continuous.

"I was really in shock and I was angry at the photographers so I left the tunnel. I was not feeling very good at all."

In various state-ments to French investigators, Darmon said a group of four or five cars, three motorbikes and a couple of scooters had joined up with him and Rat at the top of the slope leading into the underpass.

But yesterday he insisted he had never said that, adding: "There must have been a misunderstanding. There was nobody in front of me or alongside me."

Asked about the actions of Rat in the underpass, Mr Darmon said the photographer opened the door of the Mercedes as others arrived.

"I could hear Romuald Rat, who was still near the Mercedes, saying she was alive. I saw him pushing people around. He took off his jacket. I think he had a few clashes.

"He intervened in order to see what he could do for the people inside. He was trying to do something positive by getting the people (the paparazzi) away."

Darmon said several photographers fled the scene on hearing the sound of approaching fireengine sirens.

Asked if he saw any paparazzi loading fresh film into their cameras to take more pictures, he said: "I didn't see it but I think they had no other choice, considering the number of photographs taken."

The motorcycle rider, now retrained as a civil servant, said he had not been in contact with any of the paparazzi since the crash. He met the boss of the Gamma picture agency ten days later.

"He gave me 5,000 francs and told me, 'Thank you and goodbye'."

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