DATE: Friday, September 12, 1997 TAG: 9709120009 SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B8 EDITION: FINAL TYPE: Editorial LENGTH: 32 lines
In the almost two weeks since the death of Princess Diana, a grief-stricken public has been casting about to blame someone for the untimely death of the beloved princess.
At first, all fingers were firmly pointed at the despised paparazzi. How convenient that was.
But in the end, the blame seems to lie squarely with the French driver of the car who was not only drunk at the time of the horrible accident but under the influence of several prescription drugs.
Police reports indicate Henri Paul was driving the car at extremely high speeds, perhaps in excess of 100 mph, when the armored Mercedes careened through a Parisian tunnel killing three of its occupants and critically injuring another.
There is no denying that Diana lived an extraordinary life. Her horrible death was sadly ordinary. She died, as almost 20,000 Americans do every year, at the hands of a drunken driver.
As the world mourns her passing, Diana's charities are brimming with contributions as her supporters try to keep her legacy alive. An equally fitting tribute to the late princess might be a global crackdown on drunken driving.
The death of this young princess proves that no one is safe from the deadly deeds of drunkards behind the wheel.
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