Anne Heche died following a Los Angeles car crash that left her severely burned.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to Us Weekly on August 5 that the driver — who they did not identify initially — was allegedly speeding while traveling eastbound on Preston Way in Los Angeles. A blue Mini Cooper ran off the road when it entered the intersection of Preston and Walgrove, then collided with a house. One woman, Lynne Mishele, was home, but she was in the backyard and was not seriously injured.
The Mini Cooper was engulfed in flames and the driver received severe burns. One day after the incident, a rep for Heche told Us that the actress was “currently in stable condition,” adding: “Her family and friends ask for your thoughts and prayers and to respect her privacy during this difficult time.”
On August 8, however, a rep for the Dancing With the Stars alum confirmed that Heche had fallen into a coma following the incident. “At this time she is in extreme critical condition she has a significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that require surgical intervention,” the representative told Us in a statement. “She is in a coma and has not regained consciousness since shortly after the accident.”
After the crash, well wishes for the Ohio native poured in from her friends and former colleagues. “We became close friends and my heart breaks for her and her family over this terrible accident,” Keo Motsepe, who partnered with Heche on DWTS, told Entertainment Tonight. “I am praying she makes a full recovery and I know the entire DWTS family is sending her healing thoughts.”
James Tupper, who dated Heche from 2006 to 2018, asked fans for prayers in a statement shared via Instagram. “Thoughts and prayers for this lovely woman, actress and mother tonight anneheche 💔 we love you,” the Big Little Lies alum wrote on August 5. The Volcano actress and the Revenge alum shared son Atlas, who was born in March 2009. The Daytime Emmy Award winner also shared son Homer, born in March 2002, with ex-husband Coleman Laffoon.
On August 11, it was announced that Heche would not wake up. “We want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers for Anne’s recovery and thank the dedicated staff and wonderful nurses that cared for Anne at the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills hospital,” a representative for Heche told Us Weekly in a statement made on behalf of her family and friends on Thursday, August 11. “Unfortunately, due to her accident, Anne Heche suffered a severe anoxic brain injury and remains in a coma, in critical condition. She is not expected to survive.”
Heche officially died on August 12, one week after the crash. “Anne is legally dead according to California law,” a rep for Heche told Us at the time. “Her heart is still beating and she has not been taken off of life support. This is in order to allow OneLegacy Foundation enough time to find [organ donor] recipients who will be a match.”
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She was taken off life support on August 14 after organ recipients were selected. She was given an Honor Walk, a ceremony in which medical staff lines the halls leading to the operating room to thank the late patient for donating their organs.
Everything to know about Heche’s crash is below:
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