Princess Diana’s First Responder Said ‘I Expected Her to Live’ After Tragic Paris Car Crash
A fireman who was one of the first to respond to the scene after Princess Diana‘s tragic 1977 Paris car crash admitted, “I expected her to live.” Sergeant Xavier Gourmelon said that upon first examination, he was sure the royal family member would survive the accident that ultimately took her life, that of Dodi al Fayed and the car’s driver, Henri Paul.
Princess Diana was reportedly responsive right her car crashed in Paris, France
In a 2017 interview with The Sun to honor the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death, Sergeant Xavier Gourmelon shared details of his encounter with the beloved royal that fateful evening. He claimed that the late Princess of Wales was reportedly responsive when he arrived on the scene.
“We were very close to there, and it took less than three minutes to reach it [the tunnel],” the first responder revealed. “My ten-man team was in two trucks, and we arrived first.”
He continued, “The car was in a mess, and we just dealt with it like any road accident. We got straight to work to see who needed help and who was alive.”
“The woman, who I later found out was Princess Diana, was on the floor in the back. Diana said to me, ‘My God, what’s happened?’ She was moving very slightly, and I could see she was alive,” Gourmelon admitted.
“I could see she had a slight injury to her right shoulder. But other than that, there was nothing significant. There was no blood on her at all.” He concluded, “To be honest, I thought she would live.”
The first responder said the memory of that night ‘will stay with me forever’
As a passenger of the car driven by Henri Paul and accompanied by a bodyguard Trevor Reese-Jones, Diana and Dodi al Fayed were trying to escape paparazzi who attempted to overrun their vehicle. The couple was en-route from The Ritz Paris, to return to al Fayed’s apartment when a car chase ensued.
However, Paul lost control of the car as he approached the entrance of the Pont de l’Alma underpass. The car ultimately collided head-on with the tunnel’s 13th pillar. That’s when Seargeant Xavier Gourmelon and his team appeared on the scene.
Gourmelon never believed Princess Diana was near death when he pulled her from the crumpled wreckage of a black Mercedes in Paris, France, on Aug. 31, 1997. However, he did conclude the princess was in medical distress with serious injuries after the accident.
“I gave her some oxygen, and my team and I stayed by her side as she was taken out of the car. It was quick because we didn’t have to cut any wreckage,” he explained. Then, Diana stopped breathing.
Gourmelon revealed he performed a medical intervention on Diana. “I massaged her heart, and a few seconds later, she started breathing again. It was a relief because, as a first responder, you want to save lives — and that’s what I thought I had done,” he recalled.
“I know now that there were serious internal injuries, but the whole episode is still very much in my mind. And the memory of that night will stay with me forever,” the first responder concluded.
Why did it take 20 years for the first responder to talk about the night Diana died?
Sergeant Xavier Gourmelon revealed that he kept his experiences of that fateful night to himself for 20 years. There was a good reason for his silence.
He revealed that, due to his position as a first responder, he could only publicly discuss his experiences regarding that evening once he retired. “As a fireman, you are part of the French military, so you are forbidden to talk. Now that I have left the fire service, I felt it was OK.”
“I can still picture the whole scene. It’s something I’ll never forget,” Gourmelon concluded in an interview with The Daily Mail.
Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997. She was 36 and survived by her sons Prince William and Prince Harry.
