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Tribune News Service
Tribune News Service
National
Joseph Wilkinson

Anne Heche ‘not expected to survive’ after car crash: report

Anne Heche is “not expected to survive” after suffering massive injuries in a car crash last week, a published report said.

The actress suffered a severe brain injury, a rep for her told People.

Heche remains in a coma, the rep said, and is unlikely to come out of it.

“It has long been her choice to donate her organs and she’s being kept on life support to determine if any are viable,” the statement said.

Heche reportedly had cocaine in her system when she slammed her car into a Los Angeles home Aug 5.

Authorities drew blood from the 53-year-old actress after the life-threatening crash on Aug. 5 in the Mar Vista neighborhood on the city’s west side. There was no evidence of alcohol, but there was cocaine, TMZ reported Thursday, citing police sources.

The tests were also positive for fentanyl, according to TMZ. Cops are unsure if the opioid played a role in the crash; it is often used as a painkiller in hospitals.

The “Donnie Brasco” actress was driving a blue Mini Cooper around the neighborhood at high speeds on the day of the accident.

Before the fiery crash into the house, Heche struck an apartment building in the area. Videos showed people running over to her car and talking with Heche. But she threw the car in reverse and sped away from that scene.

Minutes later, authorities responded to a house fire and pulled Heche from her blazing vehicle.

“We were just looking inside, going, ‘How could you survive that?’ Because we had a hard time breathing even outside of the house,” witness Lynn Bernstein told People magazine after the wreck.

Heche was intubated at a nearby hospital and has been in a coma since then. TMZ reported her condition as “dire” on Thursday.

No one else was injured in the crash, but neighbors set up a GoFundMe for the home’s resident, Lynne Mishele.

“Lynne and her family very narrowly escaped physical harm, and for that we are very, very grateful,” the fundrasier says. “The home, however, was completely burned — with 59 firefighters taking 65 minutes to extinguish the flames — and immediately red-tagged by the LAFD, necessitating that Lynne leave the place she loves.”

The home’s owner, Jennifer Durand, was stunned when she saw the extent of the damage.

“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,” Durand said. “Nothing could have prepared me for what the house looked like.”

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