Actress Anne Heche has been hospitalized after a fiery car crash in Los Angeles, according to multiple reports.
Witnesses cited by TMZ late Friday said the Wag the Dog and Donnie Brasco star was seen crashing into the garage of an apartment building in her Mini Cooper, only to drive away as bystanders tried to come to her aid. She then reportedly plowed into a nearby home in Mar Vista a short time later, sparking a blaze that engulfed the vehicle and spread throughout the house.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said it took 59 firefighters 65 minutes to put out the “stubborn flames” and “rescue one female adult found within the vehicle.” She was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
However, Heche’s ex-boyfriend, Thomas Jane, told The Daily Mail on Saturday that the actress was “stable” and was “expected to pull through,” despite being intubated.
“My thoughts and prayers are with Anne, one of the true talents of her generation,” said Jane, who dated Heche as recently as 2020. “Thank God no one else was hurt.”
A source close to Heche told CNN the actress was “lucky to be alive,” and had “severe burns and has a long recovery ahead.” Her family was still processing what led up to the crash, the source said.
Anne Heche and ex boyfriend Thomas Jane in 2010.
Jason Merritt
Fox 11’s Stu Mandel, who watched the rescue operation in a chopper above the crash site, earlier said, “If there’s somebody alive in there this is going to be a miracle.”
“The house was tons of smoke. I think they used the crane to move the car to extract the driver. It was crazy,” a witness was quoted telling NBC Los Angeles.
Images published by Fox 11 show a woman, identified by the news outlet as Heche, being taken away on a stretcher. The Los Angeles Timesciting law enforcement officials, reports that Heche was the registered owner of the vehicle.
Representatives for Heche did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We really had a multifaceted incident here,” Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott was quoted saying. “We had a significant traffic collision, we had entrapment of a woman inside that, we had a car that erupted into fire, and then we had a home that had significant fire that is red tagged. It’s at this point destroyed.”
No other injuries were reported.