According to a spokesman, Anne Heche is on life support after sustaining a head damage in a horrific collision a week ago and is not expected to live.
According to a statement published Thursday night on behalf of her family and friends, the actress, who is in a coma and in serious condition, is being maintained on life support for potential organ donation.
According to the statement, Heche, who is being treated at the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills Hospital in West Hills, California, had a “serious anoxic brain damage.” A persistent loss of oxygen to the brain causes such a damage.
“She is not anticipated to live,” according to the statement. “She has long wanted to give her organs, and she is being kept on life support to see whether any are viable.” On the morning of Aug. 5, Heche’s automobile crashed into a house in a west Los Angeles area, sparking a fire with the car trapped within.
Police confirmed earlier Thursday that they were looking into Heche for driving under the influence. Detectives with a search warrant collected a blood sample from her and discovered drugs in her system, according to LAPD spokesman Officer Jeff Lee.
Toxicology tests, which may take weeks to complete, are required to more precisely identify the medications and distinguish them from any medicine she may have been given for treatment at the hospital.
According to police, evidence from the collision is still being collected, and they plan to bring a case to prosecutors once the investigation is completed.
Heche’s representative refused to comment on the probe.
Heather Duffy Boylston, a spokesman for Heche, said on Tuesday that she had been in a coma since the accident, with burns that needed surgery and lung problems that necessitated the use of a ventilator to breathe.
“Anne had a big heart and her giving attitude impacted everyone she met.” More than her exceptional skill, she considered sharing compassion and pleasure as her life’s job, particularly “pushing the needle for acceptance of who you love,” according to a statement released on Thursday. “She will be remembered for her brave honesty and will be much missed for her brightness.”
Heche, 53, was one of Hollywood’s most renowned film actresses in the late 1990s, co-starring with Johnny Depp (“Donnie Brasco”) and Harrison Ford (“Six Days, Seven Nights”).
She has lately had regular appearances on the network TV shows “Chicago P.D.” and “All Rise,” and she will compete on “Dancing With the Stars” in 2020.
She described her lifetime problems with mental health in a book published in 2001.
Following the incident, several celebrities and former co-stars expressed their support for Heche.
Among them is actor Alec Baldwin, who resorted to Instagram to express his feelings about Heche, with whom he had previously worked.
“Hey, I just wanted to offer Anne Heche my best wishes and all my love,” Baldwin said in a video. “Anne is an old friend of mine, and we did a very 90s thriller called ‘The Juror’ together.”
“There aren’t many women I’ve dealt with who are courageous in the manner Anne is gutsy,” he remarked. “She’d do anything, she’d do anything.” We didn’t do anything out of the ordinary in the film, but she was incredibly creative.” Baldwin also said that he and Heche collaborated on the play “The Twentieth Century,” for which Heche received a Tony nomination in 2004.
“I adore you, Anne.” I adore you. “I believe you’re such a brilliant person, and I hope everything works out for you and that you get through this,” he remarked.