Grim news tonight regarding the car crash actor Anne Heche was involved in last week, as a representative for Heche and her family has now revealed that the performer apparently suffered a “severe” brain injury, and is “not expected to survive.” Heche is reportedly being taken off life support tonight; the representative said that she is being kept on a ventilator while doctors determine suitability for organ donation, per her wishes.
This is per Deadline, which has the full statement:
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.
Heche’s car crashed on Friday afternoon, igniting a blaze in a Los Angeles residence that took firefighters more than an hour to suppress and extract her. Although seen briefly awake and responsive in video of the crash’s aftermath, Heche apparently slipped into a coma shortly afterwards, and has not awoken.
Earlier this week, the LAPD reported that Heche’s blood had been tested and found positive for narcotics. CNN reported earlier today that the crash was being investigated as a felony traffic collision, although that is, presumably, now a moot issue.
Heche has been a fixture of Hollywood productions since the 1990s, with prominent roles in films like Wag The Dog and Six Days, Seven Nights. More recently, she worked largely in TV, with recurring roles on shows like Chicago P.D. and All Rise. She recently starred in a new Lifetime movie about human trafficking, Girl In Room 13; participants for the film briefly discussed her passion for the project during a panel at the TCAs earlier today.