French doctor who tried to save Princess Diana in Paris didn’t ‘recognize’ her

On the 25th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, French medical officer recalled the final moments of the Princess of Wales.

The French doctor was among the first to arrive at the accident spot, in the Alma Tunnel in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997.

Frederic Mailliez opened up about the realization that he was one of the last people to see Diana alive. “I realize my name will always be attached to this tragic night,” he told The Associated Press.

Mailliez, who was on his way home driving was driving into the tunnel when he spotted a smoking Mercedes nearly split in two, said, “I feel a little bit responsible for her last moments.”

“I walked toward the wreckage. I opened the door, and I looked inside,” he said. Mailliez recalled that he saw ‘four people, two of them were apparently dead, no reaction, no breathing, and the two others, on the right side, were living but in severe condition.’

While the front passenger was screaming, Mailliez saw him breathing. “But the female passenger, the young lady, was on her knees on the floor of the Mercedes, she had her head down. She had difficulty to breathe. She needed quick assistance.”

He ran to his car to call emergency services and grab a respiratory bag. “She was unconscious. She regained a little bit more energy, but she couldn’t say anything.”

He later found out in the news — along with the rest of the world — that the woman he treated was Lady Diana.

“I know it’s surprising, but I didn’t recognize Princess Diana,” he said. The doctor immediately called for an ambulance. “I tried to comfort her,” he recalled.

He also noted that paparazzi gathered at the scene to document the accident. Firefighters quickly came, and Diana was taken to a Paris hospital, where she died a few hours later. Her companion Dodi Fayed and the driver also died.