The Los Angeles Times reports that actress, producer, and screenwriter Anne Heche is still in a coma after a fiery crash in Mar Vista Friday, August 5.
Authorities say that the Los Angeles City Fire Department responded to a significant traffic collision in the 1700 block of Walgrove Avenue just after 11:00 a.m. Upon their arrival, they found a blue Mini Cooper that had collided with an apartment building.
Video footage was taken from a residence with a ring camera showed Heche’s vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed along a perpendicular street before it launched through the front lawn of a home and into the garage of an apartment. The force of the impact was significant enough to send the vehicle 30 feet inside to the opposite wall of the building, immediately bursting into flame.
A total of 59 firefighters responded to the scene.
When firefighters were able to put out the fire, they found Heche as the single occupant in the car. Though initially conscious, Heche began to slip into a coma shortly after being extricated from the vehicle. She was rushed to an area hospital in critical condition with severe burns, and other injuries suffered in the crash.
The Los Angeles Police Department obtained a warrant to draw Heche’s blood to determine whether she might have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash.
As of Tuesday, August 9, Heche is still in a coma and remains in critical condition.
A single woman lived inside the home. She was in the rear of the apartment in her kitchen, which firefighters believe probably saved her life. A neighbor assisted in getting her and her pets out of the building and said she was shaken but uninjured.
The incident is currently under investigation by the LAPD.