Topline
Actor Anne Heche will be taken off life support Sunday according to People, after suffering “a severe anoxic brain injury” —when the brain loses access to oxygen— from crashing her car into a residence in Los Angeles last week.
Anne Heche poses at the Roundabout Theatre Company’s upcoming benefit performance of “Twentieth … [+]
Key Facts
Heche will be taken off of life support after a match was found for her organs, according to People.
Heche had been in a coma and on a ventilator for days after the accident and was declared brain dead on Friday—which under California law means she is considered legally deceased—but remained on life support as she was evaluated to possibly donate her organs.
A spokesperson for the actress said earlier this week Heche suffered “significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation” and “burns that require surgical intervention.”
Her car crash was being investigated as a felony DUI by Los Angeles police, but on Thursday the department said it would not continue the investigation posthumously.
Forbes has reached out to representatives for Heche for comment.
Key Background
Heche, who was best known for her roles in Donnie Brasco and Six Days, Seven Nights, was driving a Mini Cooper around 11 a.m. on August 5 when she crashed into a two-story home in Los Angeles, sparking a fire. It took 59 firefighters over an hour to extinguish the blaze. A Go-Fund-Me for the resident of the home, Lynne Mishele, has since raised over $170,000. On Thursday, the LAPD confirmed reports that Heche was driving the car and that it had obtained a search warrant for Heche’s blood, “which is common practice for this manner.” LAPD public information officer Annie Hernandez told Forbes Thursday blood test results from Heche showed “presence of a narcotic,” but more further testing was needed to “to rule out any substance that was administered at the hospital.” Heche started her career in soap operas and won a daytime Emmy for her work playing twins on Another World in 1991. Heche has appeared on several TV shows like Men In Trees and in theater productions like Twentieth Century, for which she was nominated for a Tony. Heche previously dated Ellen Degeneres, was married to Coleman Lafoon, and had a relationship with actor James Tupper. She is survived by her two sons, Homer Laffoon, 20, and Atlas Tupper, 13.
Further Reading
Actor Anne Heche dies a week after car crash, aged 53 (The Guardian)
Police Close DUI Investigation Into Anne Heche’s Car Crash (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/08/14/anne-heche-to-be-removed-from-life-support-dead-at-53-after-los-angeles-car-crash/