Anne Heche Said to Be in Critical Condition After Fiery LA Crash

Witnesses say car reportedly driven by Heche sped through neighborhood, smashed into home
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 6, 2022 7:00 AM CDT
Reports: Anne Heche Drove Car That Smashed Into Home
Anne Heche arrives at the Directors Guild of America Awards on March 12 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif.   (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

A fiery car crash in Los Angeles on Friday left the driver of the car critically injured, and sources say that woman was Wag the Dog and Donnie Brasco actress Anne Heche. Brian Humphrey, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department, tells NBC Los Angeles the accident happened around 11am local time, with a spokesperson from the LAPD noting that the blue Mini Cooper involved in the crash had been seen speeding in the Mar Vista neighborhood before apparently hitting a curb, flying into the air, and smashing into a home on the 1700 block of South Walgrove Avenue. Records from the California DMV and police sources confirm the Mini Cooper involved in the accident is registered to the 53-year-old Heche, reports ABC7.

Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott tells the outlet that when firefighters arrived on the scene, the car was engulfed in flames, which had started to spread to the two-story home, with the driver trapped inside the vehicle. "She was talking to us at the time that we were able to pull her out, so that's a good sign," he says. Humphrey tells NBC that it took nearly 60 firefighters over an hour to "access, confine, and fully extinguish the stubborn flames within the heavily damaged structure," as well as to rescue the driver. The homeowner was uninjured, apparently because she was far enough back in the house. A neighbor tells ABC7 that she told him "the dogs were sitting with her when the car came flying through, and the car stopped like 2 feet away from where she was sitting."

Meanwhile, TMZ reports that not long before the accident, what seemed to be the same Mini Cooper had crashed into the garage of a nearby apartment complex. Bystanders tried to get the driver out of the car, "but she put the car in reverse and then sped off," per the outlet. TMZ has video from a neighborhood Ring camera that appears to show the Mini Cooper speeding by, followed by the sound of the crash seconds later. Another video shows the aftermath of the crash, including a person on a stretcher who "suddenly sits up on the stretcher and starts flailing wildly as they put her in the ambulance," per TMZ. The driver was taken to a local hospital with burn injuries and is said to be in critical condition. (More Anne Heche stories.)

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