Overview
- The Mercedes crash that killed Diana, Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul happened on Aug. 31, 1997, when the car struck a concrete pillar in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel during a high‑speed run with photographers pursuing.
- Operation Paget, the official British inquiry completed in 2006, concluded there was no evidence of a deliberate plot, found no occupants were wearing seat belts, and reported Henri Paul’s blood alcohol level was more than three times the French legal limit.
- Television specials airing Aug. 20–21, 2026 used modern A.I. and forensic recreation to retest longstanding theories about the crash and to show the sequence of events inside the tunnel.
- Investigators on the specials argued two new interpretations from their reconstructions: host Jakson Buhaj said Diana likely would have survived if she had been belted, and retired Secret Service agent Rich Staropoli said paint on the Mercedes in the recreation matched a Fiat Uno consistent with a reported 'clipping' incident.
- Those televised findings are reported interpretations based on new technology and do not replace Operation Paget’s official conclusions, but they have renewed public debate and could prompt fresh scrutiny of forensic methods and how historical investigations are reassessed.