Anne Heche was in a coma on Monday as authorities tried to piece together the chain of events days earlier that ended with the actress speeding down a Westside street, crashing into a house and suffering burns in the fire caused by the impact.
Los Angeles police are investigating Heche for driving under the influence and hit-and-run after he crashed his car into a Mar Vista home on Friday, starting a fire. Heche, 53, was pulled by Los Angeles firefighters from the wreckage of her burnt-out Mini Cooper.
As this investigation continued, news regarding Heche’s condition deteriorated.
“Shortly after the accident, Anne Heche lost consciousness, fell into a coma and is in critical condition. She has a significant lung injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns requiring surgery,” said a spokesperson for Heche in a statement to The Times.
Los Angeles Police Officer Annie Hernandez has confirmed that detectives investigating the crash in the 1700 block of South Walgrove Avenue obtained a search warrant for the actor’s blood at the hospital to see if she was under the influence.
Fifty-nine firefighters responded to the scene of the accident. In the moments leading up to impact, Heche was captured on video crashing into a garage of an apartment building, then narrowly missing a pedestrian before hitting a Jaguar, according to police sources and a video made public.
The police gang remains at home in the 1700 block of Walgrove Avenue in Mar Vista, where actress Anne Heche crashed her vehicle on Friday.
(Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)
David Manpearl was sitting at his desk Friday morning in his Mar Vista home when he saw a car speed past his window.
A few seconds later, he heard a thud.
“It took me a second or two to figure out that the sound I heard was a crash,” he said. “I ran out the door and down the street to find out where the accident was and see if anyone needed help.”
When he arrived at the scene, he said, he found the front wall of a house missing and debris everywhere. He said Heche’s car drove through the house and was stuck in a wall in the back. He said he entered the house and found his tenant standing in the middle of what was left of his kitchen, barefoot, asking for help with his turtle and two dogs.
“She couldn’t move because the ceiling had fallen down, so there was all kinds of debris everywhere,” Manpearl said. He and another neighbor helped the neighbor to safety.
Trevor Colbert, who lives across the street, also ran outside after hearing the accident and seeing a hole in his neighbour’s house. He said he went back inside, grabbed a fire extinguisher and came back to find his neighbor on her lawn.
“She went out with one of her pets and she looked pretty shaken up,” Colbert said. “She didn’t say much. I think she was in shock.
After making sure the tenant was safe, Manpearl said, he returned to the house to try to help Heche, who was still stuck in the car.
“It got to a point where there was fire everywhere. It was all around us,” he said. “It had spread from the car to the house and the smoke was getting thick. I kept hoping the firefighters were there but they hadn’t arrived yet and I eventually had to leave the house for my own security.
Heche has not been arrested or charged.
Heather Duffy Boylston, Heche’s friend and podcast partner, said in a statement, “Her family and friends ask for your thoughts and prayers and respect her privacy during this difficult time.”
Shortly before the accident, Heche was acting like a “nice little girl” by buying a bright red wig from Glass Hair Design in Venice, salon owner Richard Glass said on Monday.
The actor was “very pleasant” and appeared to be fine on Friday, Glass said, as she entered her Main Street living room through the back door wearing a strappy top, comfy pants and fluffy, fluffy house shoes. .
He posted a selfie showing them both – and the wig – on his Instagram account.
“So I met @anneheche today and she bought such a random #redwig,” Glass captioned the photo for her 3,000 followers. “I love #venicebeach #actress #director #mom #celebrity #lifestyle.”
“In one of the images TMZ posted, you can see the wig on the console,” Glass said. And in fact, the picture which many believe shows a bottle of liquor in the cup holder of the car also shows a bit of red bangs where the wig sits on the passenger side of the center console.
Heche is best known for her work as Vicky Hudson and Marley Love on the soap opera “Another World”; she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991 for her work on the show. In the 1990s, his credits included the films “Donnie Brasco”, “Six Days Seven Nights” and “Return to Paradise”. More recently, she appeared in the television series “All Rise” and “Chicago PD” and in the movie “The Brave”.