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| Diana car 'may have had a bump' | Diana car 'may have had a bump' |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Princess Diana's Mercedes may have suffered a "bump" with another large, dark car as it entered the Paris tunnel where it crashed, witnesses have said. | Princess Diana's Mercedes may have suffered a "bump" with another large, dark car as it entered the Paris tunnel where it crashed, witnesses have said. |
| Jean-Claude Catheline and his wife Annick told the inquest into the deaths Diana and Dodi Fayed they saw two cars enter the tunnel side-by-side. | Jean-Claude Catheline and his wife Annick told the inquest into the deaths Diana and Dodi Fayed they saw two cars enter the tunnel side-by-side. |
| They heard the sound of a collision as they walked near the underpass entrance in the early hours of 31 August 1997. | They heard the sound of a collision as they walked near the underpass entrance in the early hours of 31 August 1997. |
| Speaking via video-link, they said they heard tyres screech moments later. | |
| The couple, who were speaking from Paris, told the inquest sitting at the High Court in London: "As soon as the car disappeared from our view we heard what sounded like the bodywork bumping, I think that this noise was before the car entered the tunnel." | The couple, who were speaking from Paris, told the inquest sitting at the High Court in London: "As soon as the car disappeared from our view we heard what sounded like the bodywork bumping, I think that this noise was before the car entered the tunnel." |
| 'Screeching' tyres | 'Screeching' tyres |
| An excerpt from his original police statement was read to the court by Richard Horwell QC. | An excerpt from his original police statement was read to the court by Richard Horwell QC. |
| The statement read: "Almost immediately I heard a second noise, very, very loud, quite different from the first, it was a dull noise and followed by a second, identical noise." | The statement read: "Almost immediately I heard a second noise, very, very loud, quite different from the first, it was a dull noise and followed by a second, identical noise." |
| And, as he addressed the court, Mr Catheline said: "I heard the tyres screeching on the road." | And, as he addressed the court, Mr Catheline said: "I heard the tyres screeching on the road." |
| The couple had been walking back to their car from the Eiffel Tower nearby following a night out when they witnessed events moments before the accident in the Pont de L'Alma tunnel that killed the princess and her lover. | The couple had been walking back to their car from the Eiffel Tower nearby following a night out when they witnessed events moments before the accident in the Pont de L'Alma tunnel that killed the princess and her lover. |
| 'Very fast' | 'Very fast' |
| Mrs Catheline told the court: "When they were already in the tunnel, under the bridge we heard noises like two cars bumping each other." | Mrs Catheline told the court: "When they were already in the tunnel, under the bridge we heard noises like two cars bumping each other." |
| Her son-in-law - David Le Ny - who had been with the couple, along with their daughter, remembered seeing a large dark car speeding towards them into the tunnel. | Her son-in-law - David Le Ny - who had been with the couple, along with their daughter, remembered seeing a large dark car speeding towards them into the tunnel. |
| He said: "It was going very fast, I remember the noise coming from the engine... I certainly made a comment, stating that they were crazy or something like that." | He said: "It was going very fast, I remember the noise coming from the engine... I certainly made a comment, stating that they were crazy or something like that." |
| Meanwhile, a motorist who witnessed the crash recalled seeing a "major white flash" in the underpass. | |
| Francois Levistre, who was driving in front of the Mercedes when the fatal crash happened, described how the princess's car was overtaken by a motorcycle inside the tunnel. | |
| The car had no light any longer - everything was switched off," he said. Francois LevistreWitness | |
| Speaking through a translator, Mr Levistre told the inquest: "I realised there was this major white flash of the motorbike in front of the Mercedes, in front of the car. | |
| "I was nearly at the exit of the tunnel and I realised that because I heard the noise of the motorbike within the tunnel." | |
| Mr Levistre, who watched events unfold in his rear-view mirror, said he saw the Mercedes veer from side to side before it turned around. | |
| "The car had no light any longer. Everything was switched off," he said. | |
| The witness then saw the motorcycle passenger get off, approach the car, look inside and gesture to the bike's driver before the pair drove away. |