Initial reports said Heche was in stable condition after Friday’s crash, and firefighters described her as talking to rescuers after being pulled from the wreckage. However, a representative for the actress on Monday clarified: “Despite earlier reports that Heche was stable, shortly after the accident, Anne Heche became unconscious, slipped into a coma and is in critical condition. She has a significant lung injury that requires mechanical ventilation and burns requiring surgery.” Police tested Heche for drugs and alcohol after the crash, a source confirmed to Eyewitness News. Because of her condition, a warrant was obtained to test Heche’s blood for substances, according to the source. Such steps are 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 home in 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 caught fire. Video obtained by Eyewitness News shows Heche’s Mini Cooper badly damaged and on fire being towed outside the home. According to LAFD Capt. Erik Scott, firefighters arrived at the home to find a fire well involved. “When we got to the scene, we had a single vehicle that appeared to be driving at a high rate of speed down a vertical road and it shot out of the front yard, into the house,” Scott said. “So deep… about 30 feet in.” Scott said Heche – who was officially identified as the driver behind the wheel – was trapped inside the car as flames from the vehicle began to spread to the home. “She was talking to us at 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 the Mar Vista home. Police said they are investigating “misdemeanor falls” that occurred before the Mar Vista crash. No arrests have been made. The woman who lived in the Mar Vista home was not injured, but neighbors say she lost everything in the fire caused by the crash. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help her. A witness told ABC News that the car stopped two feet from where he was sitting. The occupant of the home has been identified as Lynne Mishele. Her attorney, Shawn Holley, released a statement Monday: “Ms Mishele is devastated by what happened to her on Friday – not only because she and her pets almost lost their lives, but because her entire property, including items of deep sentimental value, was destroyed. She is asking for privacy of life at this incredibly difficult time.” A neighbor described to Eyewitness News the first terrifying moments after the crash and his efforts to help both Heche and the resident of the home. David Manpearl lives down the road and rushed to his neighbour’s house after hearing the crash. She was not seriously injured, but focused on getting her animals safely out of the rubble of the house. She asked him to help her pick up her straps that were next to the front door – now pushed about 25 feet from their original position by the force of the impact. He then went to help the driver of the Mini, not knowing her identity. First he asked her if she was okay. “She unfortunately said no, she wasn’t 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 underneath was spreading and pouring thick black smoke. At some point he realized that he had to withdraw from the house. It eventually took multiple firefighters with specialized equipment to extinguish the flames and extricate Heche from the mangled Mini. Heche’s friend and podcast contributor Heather Duffy Boylston released a statement Saturday that read in part: “Her family and friends ask for your thoughts and prayers and to respect her privacy at this difficult time.” . Copyright © 2022 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
