Anne Heche
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)A fundraiser for a woman who lost an “entire lifetime of possessions” when her house was hit by a car driven by actress Anne Heche, sparking a fire that nearly killed them both, has made thousands of pounds in 24 hours.
Heche, 53, the star of films including Donnie Brasco and Six Days, Seven Nights, was taken to hospital after her Mini Clubman smashed into the Los Angeles home of Lynne Mishele.
Police said the car had been travelling at speeds nearing 90mph when it hit the two-storey property. It took firefighters more than an hour to extinguish the blaze.
The actress, the former partner of US talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, suffered burns and is now said to be in a stable condition.
Video appears to show Ms Heche driving at speed in the Mar Vista area of the city on Friday evening shortly before the impact, and crashing into a garage further up the same street.
She had earlier been pictured with what appeared to be a bottle of vodka in the cupholder of her car and had spoken about drinking vodka with wine chasers in an episode of her podcast which was released hours before the crash.
Ms Mishele escaped with her life but her house was destroyed.
Neighbour David Manpearl said she initially believed something had “fallen from the sky” and exploded into her house.
“She’s lucky to be alive. She was shaking when she told me she had just been in the living room right where the car had crashed,” he said.
Neighbours have set up a GoFundMe page to help Ms Mishele, which has raised more than $52,000 (£43,000) in a day.
The page reads: “Lynne and her family very narrowly escaped physical harm, and for that we are very, very grateful. The home, however, was completely burned and immediately red-tagged by the LAFD (Los Angeles Fire Department), necessitating that Lynne leave the place she loves.
“Even more distressing is that Lynne lost her entire lifetime of possessions, mementos, all equipment for her business including her laptop and iPad, all of her clothing and basic necessities, and all household items.
“With firefighters’ help, she was able to pull a few damaged sentimental belongings from the wreckage. Everything else is gone.”
An LAFD report stated: “Fifty nine firefighters took 65 minutes to access, confine and fully extinguish the stubborn flames within the heavily damaged structure. One female adult (was) found within the vehicle, who has been taken to an area hospital by LAFD Paramedics in critical condition.”
LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey said the building was “uninhabitable”.
Meanwhile, celebrities including Alec Baldwin have been criticised for offering their support to Ms Heche.
In a video posted to Instagram, Baldwin called her “an amazingly talented woman” and called on fans to send their “support and love” to her.
Baldwin, who has faced investigation over his fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on a film set last year, said: “There’s not a lot of women I’ve worked with that are brave in the way that Anne is brave.”
But many took him to task, with people on social media tweeting: “What about the people she almost killed? Is she more important?”
