Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Anne Heche on Life Support, Survival of Crash 'Not Expected'
News
By News
Published 2 years ago on
August 12, 2022

Share

 

Anne Heche is on life support after suffering a brain injury in a fiery crash a week ago and her survival isn’t expected, according to a statement from a representative.

The actor, who is in a coma and in critical condition, is being kept on life support for possible organ donation, according to the statement released Thursday night on behalf of her family and friends.

Heche, who’s been hospitalized at the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills hospital north of Los Angeles, suffered a “severe anoxic brain injury,” the statement said. Such an injury is caused by a sustained lack of oxygen to the brain.

“She is not expected to survive,” the statement said. “It has long been her choice to donate her organs and she is being kept on life support to determine if any are viable.”

On the morning of Aug. 5, Heche’s car smashed into a house in a neighborhood in west Los Angeles and a fire erupted with the car embedded inside the home.

Earlier Thursday, police said they were investigating Heche for driving under the influence. Detectives with a search warrant took a sample of her blood and found narcotics in her system, LAPD spokesperson Officer Jeff Lee said.

Toxicology tests, which can take weeks to complete, must be performed to identify the drugs more clearly and to differentiate them from any medication she may have been given for treatment at the hospital.

Evidence is still being gathered from the crash, police said, and they would present a case to prosecutors if it is warranted when the investigation is complete.

A representative for Heche declined comment on the investigation.

On Tuesday, Heche spokesperson Heather Duffy Boylston said she had been in a coma since after the accident, with burns that required surgery and lung injuries that required the use of a ventilator to breathe.

“Anne had a huge heart and touched everyone she met with her generous spirit. More than her extraordinary talent, she saw spreading kindness and joy as her life’s work — especially moving the needle for acceptance of who you love,” Thursday’s statement said. “She will be remembered for her courageous honesty and dearly missed for her light.”

Heche, 53, was among the most prominent film stars in Hollywood in the late 1990s, playing opposite actors including Johnny Depp (“Donnie Brasco”) and Harrison Ford (“Six Days, Seven Nights”). In a 2001 memoir, she discussed her lifelong struggles with mental health.

She recently had recurring roles on the network TV series “Chicago P.D.” and “All Rise,” and in 2020 was a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Preschools Lose Students as Transitional Kindergarten Expands in California

DON'T MISS

Aaron Glenn Tasked With Ending Jets’ Long Playoff Drought

DON'T MISS

Evacuations Ordered as New Fast-Moving Wildfire Threatens Mountain Homes North of LA

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Traffic Stop Turns Into $640K Cocaine Bust

DON'T MISS

Fresno MLK March Keynote Speaker: ‘We’re Still in This Fight and Struggle’

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Local Man in Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Heads to Prison Today

DON'T MISS

Stock Market Today: Netflix and AI Excitement Have Wall Street Near All-Time High

DON'T MISS

Progresso Sells Out of New Chicken-Soup Flavored Cough Drops in Less Than an Hour

DON'T MISS

Musk Casts Doubt on Trump’s $100 Billion AI Announcement

DON'T MISS

Madera County Crash Leaves One Dead. CHP Investigating.

UP NEXT

The Top 24 Most Anticipated Movie Blockbusters of 2025

UP NEXT

Nintendo’s New Switch 2 Console Will Come Out in 2025

UP NEXT

Sting, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Perform at FireAid Benefit Concert

UP NEXT

Fresno’s Jeff Atmajian, Orchestrator of ‘Joker’ and ‘Wicked,’ Speaks at Saroyan Theatre

UP NEXT

David Lynch, Visionary Filmmaker Behind ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Mulholland Drive,’ Dies at 78

UP NEXT

Ohtani and Dodgers Featured on Four of ESPN’s First 10 Sunday Night Baseball Broadcasts

UP NEXT

Luke Bryan Brings ‘Farm Tour’ to Clovis at Harlan Ranch

UP NEXT

‘Wicked’ Tops SAG Awards Nominations as Many Big Names Are Snubbed

UP NEXT

Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore, Paris Hilton Among Those Losing Homes in LA Fires

UP NEXT

Save Mart Center Is Among Top 100 Venues in the World

Fresno County Traffic Stop Turns Into $640K Cocaine Bust

2 hours ago

Fresno MLK March Keynote Speaker: ‘We’re Still in This Fight and Struggle’

2 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Local Man in Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Heads to Prison Today

2 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Netflix and AI Excitement Have Wall Street Near All-Time High

2 hours ago

Progresso Sells Out of New Chicken-Soup Flavored Cough Drops in Less Than an Hour

2 hours ago

Musk Casts Doubt on Trump’s $100 Billion AI Announcement

2 hours ago

Madera County Crash Leaves One Dead. CHP Investigating.

3 hours ago

Tulare County Water Managers Scramble to Fend Off Pumping Sanctions

3 hours ago

Immigrant Parents Weigh the Risk of Sending Children to School After Trump Policy Change

3 hours ago

Fire Risk, Strong Winds Continue in Southern California With Potential Rain on the Horizon

3 hours ago

Preschools Lose Students as Transitional Kindergarten Expands in California

California’s implementation of universal transitional kindergarten has adversely effected already struggling preschool programs, which are a...

5 minutes ago

5 minutes ago

Preschools Lose Students as Transitional Kindergarten Expands in California

Jets Hire Aaron Glenn as New Coach
51 minutes ago

Aaron Glenn Tasked With Ending Jets’ Long Playoff Drought

The Hughes Fire, that started on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, has already grown to over 3,400 acres with evacuations already in effect. (CalFire)
1 hour ago

Evacuations Ordered as New Fast-Moving Wildfire Threatens Mountain Homes North of LA

CHP K9 sergeant seized 17 pounds of cocaine worth $640,000 during a Fresno County traffic stop, leading to an arrest. (CHP)
2 hours ago

Fresno County Traffic Stop Turns Into $640K Cocaine Bust

Brianna Willis from ABC 30 (Left) asks questions to local leader Wendy McCulley (Right). 01/20/25. (GV Wire/Jahz Tello)
2 hours ago

Fresno MLK March Keynote Speaker: ‘We’re Still in This Fight and Struggle’

Wired Wednesday screencover for 01/22/25. (KMPH Screengrab)
2 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Local Man in Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Heads to Prison Today

2 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Netflix and AI Excitement Have Wall Street Near All-Time High

2 hours ago

Progresso Sells Out of New Chicken-Soup Flavored Cough Drops in Less Than an Hour

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend