Anne Heche was allegedly under the influence of cocaine at the time of the fiery car crash in Los Angeles that left her in a coma, according to a new report.
An LAPD source says that the actor was not under the influence of alcohol, but had cocaine as well as fentanyl in her system, reported TMZ.
Law enforcement officials secured a warrant to test Heche’s blood after she was admitted to the hospital, which means that the fentanyl could have been in her system if it was prescribed as pain medication after the accident, the report states.
Heche, 53, remains unconscious six days after she was seriously injured when her blue Mini Cooper Clubman car crashed into a home in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles.
LAPD says that Heche is now being investigated for felony DUI after a victim came forward, Officer Annie Hernandez told KTLA.
The accident on 5 August led to a fierce blaze that badly damaged the property on South Walgrove Avenue, according to Los Angeles Fire Department.
Witnesses say that the crash came after Heche first smashed her car into the garage of a nearby apartment complex.
Residents of the apartment complex tried to get Heche out of the car but she drove off before they could stop her, according to TMZ.
Her car was then caught on surveillance video driving through the neighborhood at high speed, before leaving the road at a T-Junction and careening into the home.
The fire was so intense that it took 59 firefighters an hour to bring it under control, according to LAFD.
“We really had a multifaceted incident here,” LAFD Capt. Erik Scott said. “We had a significant traffic collision, we had entrapment of a woman inside that, we had car that erupted into fire, and then we had a home that had significant fire that is red tagged. It’s at this point destroyed.”
Heche suffered serious burns in the accident. After being removed from the badly damaged car, she was rushed to hospital.
Initially, her representatives stated that she was in a “stable condition” but on Monday 8 August, they announced that she had gone into a coma and was in a “critical condition.”
“Despite previous reports that Heche was stable, shortly after the accident, Anne Heche became unconscious, slipping into a coma and is in critical condition,” her representative said in a statement. “She has a significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that require surgical intervention.”
Los Angeles Police Department investigators obtained a warrant for a blood draw on the day of the incident, and are still waiting for the results to come back, according to CNN.
Once LAPD has the results and the investigation is complete, the case will be referred to the LA City Attorney’s office which will make any decision on charges and prosecution, LAPD Officer Annie Hernandez told CNN.
Heche is currently under investigation for DUI, as well as hit and run, according to reports.
The Emmy-winning actor rose to stardom in the 1990s and appeared in movies such as Donnie Brasco, Six Days Seven Nights and Return to Paradise.
The home Heche crashed into is owned by Durand and rented out to tenant Lynne Mishele, who was inside with her dogs at the time of the incident.
“Lynne called me and asked me if I was sitting down, and then told me a car had crashed through the home and it was on fire,” Ms Durand, who has owned the house for 24 years, told People.
“She could barely speak so it took a few minutes to really understand what was happening. When I arrived, we hugged and cried a lot. In that moment, I was just so relieved and grateful that she and her animals had survived this. Nothing could have prepared me for what the house looked like.”
Richard Glass, owner of Glass Hair Design in Venice, told The Los Angeles Times that Heche had been in his salon, which is around two miles from the crash site, that morning.
Mr Glass said that the actor “wasn’t speaking in cursive”, a description he told the newspaper he uses for people who appear intoxicated.
He described Heche as having been “very pleasant” and that she bought a red wig. He then posted pictures of the pair together on his Instagram account.
