Actress Anne Heche passes away following being removed from life support
Hollywood actress Anne Heche was legally pronounced dead a week after hitting a Los Angeles building, a spokesperson said.
Heche, 53, was in a coma at the hospital and had suffered a serious brain injury since the violent collision on 5 August.
Having lost all cerebral function, she is “legally dead under Californian law,” although her heart is still beating as her family keeps her body breathing while exploring organ donation, said spokesperson Holly Baird.
“Today we have lost a shining light, a kind, and joyous soul, a loving mother, and a loyal friend,” the family said in a joint statement.
Anne will be greatly missed, but she continues to live on with her sons-in-law, her iconic work, and her impassioned advocacy.
“Her bravery to be ever standing in her truth, spreading his message of love and acceptance, will continue to have a lasting impact.” Heche, best known for the 1990’s movies “Donnie Brasco” and “Six Days, Seven Nights” as well as a high-level relationship with talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres, crashed into a two-story house in LA’s Mar Vista neighborhood.
The violent crash resulted in “a structural compromise and… heavy fire” at the scene, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The subsequent fire took over an hour for 59 firefighters to contain and extinguish completely, the ministry said.
Local media reported that preliminary tests of Heche’s blood had returned positive for narcotics, although more was needed to ensure that the drugs had not been given in connection with her treatment.
TMZ, citing anonymous police sources, said Heche had positive results for cocaine and fentanyl, which are sometimes used to relieve pain in the clinic.
Heche got famous for her role in the soap opera “Another World”, for which she won a Daytime Emmy in 1991. She was shortlisted for a Tony Award for appearing in “Twentieth Century” on Broadway in 2004.