Was a Paparazzo Really Driving the Fiat That Killed Princess Diana?
Oct. 29 2019, Published 7:21 p.m. ET
The white Fiat Uno that crashed into Princess Diana’s Mercedes-Benz S280 and killed her was barely mentioned in the French police report, prompting former homicide detective Colin McLaren to take action.
In episode 9 of the podcast “Fatal Voyage: Diana Case Solved,” McLaren attempts to track down the Fiat as part of his investigation into the fateful night of August 31, 1997, which left 36-year-old Diana dead, as well as her companion, Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the Mercedes, Henri Paul. McLaren and his team of investigators question whether paparazzo Jean-Paul “James” Andanson was behind the wheel of the Fiat.
“The driver of the white Fiat, where he was and what had happened to that car was one of those ongoing mysteries that haunted Diana’s death,” royal biographer Tina Brown notes in the "La Fiat Blanche” episode.
In addition to Andanson, French authorities investigated Le Van Thanh, who suspiciously painted his car red the day after the accident. Van Thanh was quickly ruled out as a suspect, but eyewitness Sabine Dauzonne claims on the podcast that she saw him as the driver of the white car in the tunnel that night.
The episode also looks into Andanson’s mysterious 2000 death, which was ultimately ruled a suicide.
“Andanson had a white Fiat, but Andanson mysteriously died before the British inquest and before he could be properly questioned,” former royal correspondent Michael D. Cole says. “He was found inside the locked car — one of his own locked cars — in the middle of an area which is used by the French military for training.”
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“Fatal Voyage: Diana Case Solved” is a 12-part docuseries that features interviews with a global team of detectives, forensic pathologists and royal insiders as they examine what led to Diana’s tragic death.
Download and stream “Fatal Voyage: Diana Case Solved” everywhere podcasts are available.
