OCEAN VIEW, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Actress Anne Heche fell into a coma and is in critical condition after her car crashed into a Los Angeles home, a spokesperson said Monday.
Initial reports said Heche was in stable condition after Friday’s crash and firefighters described her as speaking to her rescuers after being pulled from the wreckage.
But a spokesperson for the actress said on Monday: “Despite previous reports that Heche was stable, shortly after the accident Anne Heche lost consciousness, fell into a coma and is in critical condition. .She suffers from a significant lung injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns.” that require surgery.”
Police tested Heche for drugs and alcohol after the crash, a source confirmed to Eyewitness News. Due to his condition, a warrant was obtained to test Heche’s blood for substances, according to the source. Such action is usually taken when investigating a suspected DUI accident, especially when the driver is unable to speak.
The authorities have not received the results of the laboratory work.
The crash was reported shortly before 11 a.m. Friday at a two-story house on the 1800 block of South Walgrove Avenue in the Mar Vista neighborhood, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The car crashed into the house and started a fire.
Video obtained by Eyewitness News shows Heche’s badly damaged and burnt-out Mini Cooper being towed out of the house.
According to Captain Erik Scott of the LAFD, firefighters arrived at the house to find a serious fire.
“When we arrived on the scene, we had a solo vehicle that appeared to be speeding down a perpendicular street and launched across the front yard, into the house,” Scott said. “So deep…about 30 feet in.”
Scott said Heche – who has been officially identified as the driver behind the wheel – was trapped inside the car as flames from the vehicle began to spread to the house.
“She was talking to us by the time we were able to get her out, so that’s a good sign,” Scott said.
Meanwhile, a video that has gone viral shows what appears to be Heche’s Mini Cooper crashing into a garage door at an apartment complex half a mile west of Mar Vista’s home.
Police say an investigation is underway into “hit-and-run incidents” that occurred before the Mar Vista crash. No arrests were made.
The woman living in Mar Vista’s house was not injured, but neighbors say she lost everything to the fire caused by the accident. A GoFundMe page was put in place to help him.
A witness told ABC News the car stopped two feet from where she was sitting.
The tenant of the house has been identified as Lynne Mishele. His attorney, Shawn Holley, released a statement on Monday:
“Ms Mishele is devastated by what happened to her on Friday – not just because she and her pets nearly lost their lives, but because all of her possessions, including items of great sentimental value, were destroyed. destroyed. She asks for privacy in this incredibly difficult time.”
A neighbor described for Eyewitness News the terrifying first moments after the accident and his efforts to help both Heche and the resident of the house.
David Manpearl lives down the street and rushed to his neighbor after hearing the crash.
She was not seriously injured, but she focused on getting her animals safely out of the ruins of the house. She asked him to help her gather up her leashes which were near the front door – now pushed back about 25ft from its original location by the force of the impact.
He then went to help the driver of the Mini, not knowing her identity. He first asked her if she was okay.
“She answered unfortunately no, she was not well,” he recalls. “And she didn’t turn her head towards me at all so I never saw her face.”
He was trying to free her from the car, but a fire below was spreading and emitting thick black smoke.
At some point he realized he had to get out of the house. It eventually took several firefighters with specialized equipment to douse the flames and free Heche from the mangled Mini.
Heche’s friend and podcast partner, Heather Duffy Boylston, released a statement on Saturday that read in part, “Her family and friends ask for your thoughts and prayers and respect her privacy during this difficult time.”
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