Actress Anne Heche “Not Expected to Survive” Catastrophic Injuries Sustained in Car Crash

On August 5, actress Anne Heche was involved in a terrible car accident. According to reports, the actress had narcotics in her system as she drove down a Los Angeles street in the Mar Vista area at a high rate of speed. The car then left the street and ran into a house, causing both to go up in flames. The Los Angeles Fire Department rescued Heche from the car, and she had severe burns covering her body. She was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and, after a couple of days, reports came out that the actress was unconscious but in stable condition. However, we are now learning that Heche is in a coma and “not expected to survive”.

Credit: ABC

Heche’s publicist released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, saying that the actress was in a coma and was being kept alive until doctors determine if any of her organs can be harvested. The full statement reads:

On Behalf of Family and Friends of Anne Heche:

We want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers for Anne’s recovery and thank the dedicated staff and wonderful nurses that cared for Anne at the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills hospital. 

Unfortunately, due to her accident, Anne Heche suffered a severe anoxic brain injury and remains in a coma, in critical condition. She is not expected to survive. 

It has long been her choice to donate her organs and she is being kept on life support to determine if any are viable. 

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. She will be remembered for her courageous honesty and dearly missed for her light.

Credit: ABC

According to her publicist, Heche suffered “severe anoxic brain injury”, which means that her brain was deprived of oxygen for an extended amount of time. After about four minutes of complete lack of oxygen, brain cells begin to die. It is unknown how long Heche was without oxygen to her brain during the fiery car crash.

Throughout her career in Hollywood, Heche worked with The Walt Disney Company several times. She played Mary Jane Wilks in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and she played Kate in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. She also appeared in the show Ellen, which aired on ABC, and she played Dr. Susan Langdon in the hit ABC drama, Quantico.