A lot is still unknown about exactly what led to actress Anne Heche being involved in a pair of automobile accidents in short succession last Friday. The crashes started a fire that burned down a Southern California home and left Anne Heche reportedly in a coma. The LAPD has been investigating the incident since it happened, but it may still be some time before we know what happened, due to the fact that Anne Heche is still hospitalized and is expected to be for some time.
The Los Angeles Police Department obtained a warrant to draw Anne Heche’s blood on Friday, shortly after the accident happened. However, it does not appear there is as yet any evidence that the actress was driving while intoxicated and the investigation is ongoing. Former Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Emily D. Baker spoke with People and says that, while cases like this are usually handled quickly, police are likely moving slower than usual in this case, in part for the simple reason that Heche is in a coma. There’s no rush to arrest, assuming an arrest is even warranted, because she’s simply not going anywhere.
Initially it was reported that drawing blood was going to be difficult as Anne Heche’s body has been pretty severely burned by the fire she was in. She was apparently trapped in her vehicle for about an hour due to the fire that started following the second crash. It’s possible the coma that she is in was medically induced due to the pain she would otherwise be in.
On Friday Anne Heche, is alleged to have crashed her blue Mini Cooper into the side of an apartment building in a neighborhood in west Los Angeles. Witnesses say she then drove away from the scene of that accident, but crashed into a home some time later. The second crash started a fire that destroyed both Heche’s vehicle and the home of Lynne Mishele. A GoFundMe has been set up in her name to raise money as the fire essentially destroyed everything she owned. As of writing it has raised nearly $125,000.
While initial reports gave the actress’ status as stable, and indicated that while recovery was expected to be long, she was otherwise ok, yesterday a representative for Heche called her condition critical, saying that she had a pulmonary injury that required medical assistance, and had been in a coma since shortly after the accident. The burns on her body from the fire are expected to require multiple surgeries.
At some point we will learn more about what happened. Although if we end up learning those details through charges being filed, it could still be some time before that happens. In the meantime friends of Anne Heche are wishing her well and hoping she is able to recover.
