Anne Heche declared legally dead after severe anoxic brain injury sustained in crash

The family of Anne Heche have revealed the actress has been declared legally dead after sustaining a severe brain injury from her fiery high-speed crash last week.

Anne Heche has died aged 53 of horrific injuries sustained during a high-speed crash last week.

The actress and mother-of-two has been on life support to “determine if her organs are viable” for donation.

Confirming the devastating news of her death, a representative for her family told People that, while Heche has been declared legally dead according to California law, her heart is still beating and she has not been taken off life support in order to allow OneLegacy Foundation enough time to find recipients who will be a match.

On Friday afternoon TMZ reported Heche was “brain dead”, which under California law is the definition of death. It was announced earlier in the day she would be taken off of life support.

Heche, who starred Six Days Seven Nights, had been in a coma since last Friday after her car ploughed into a house in Los Angeles and burst into flames, with Heche suffering a “severe anoxic brain injury” and significant burns. She had cocaine in her system after the accident, as well as fentanyl.

Anoxic brain injuries are caused by the brain being deprived of oxygen for too long, which results in the death of brain cells. According to spinalcord.com, anoxic brain injury differ from traumatic brain injuries in how they are caused.

Causes include stroke, anaphylactic shock, extremely low blood pressure, electrocution, drug overdose, asphyxiation, or a collapsed lung.

Heche’s family revealed on Friday that the star was on life support. Picture: Jesse Grant/Getty Images.

“Today we lost a bright light, a kind and most joyful soul, a loving mother, and a loyal friend,” a representative for the star told tells People on behalf of Heche’s family and friends.

“Anne will be deeply missed but she lives on through her beautiful sons, her iconic body of work, and her passionate advocacy. Her bravery for always standing in her truth, spreading her message of love and acceptance, will continue to have a lasting impact.”

News of her death comes shortly after the actress’ family released a statement revealing she was “not expected to survive”.

“Unfortunately, due to her accident, Anne suffered a severe anoxic brain injury and remains in a coma in critical condition,” a representative said in a statement on behalf of Heche’s family, obtained by People.

“She is not expected to survive.

“We want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers for Anne’s recovery and thank the dedicated staff and wonderful nurses that cared for Anne at the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills hospital,” the statement said.

“Anne had a huge heart and touched everyone she met with her generous spirit. More than her extraordinary talent, she saw spreading kindness and joy as her life’s work — especially moving the needle for acceptance of who you love.

“She will be remembered for her courageous honesty and dearly missed for her light.”

‘Anne had a huge heart,’ her family said. Picture: AFP.

It took firefighters more than an hour to pull Heche out of the wreck after the Mar Vista accident. In chilling footage, Heche was seen rising off the stretcher and writhing in pain as she was taken by paramedics to the ambulance.

Reports suggested Heche had been driving at speed down a street before crashing into the house.

This caused what the Los Angeles Fire Department described as a “heavy fire”, which took a number of firefighters an hour to extinguish. The occupant of the house escaped without injury, but the house was destroyed, displacing a woman and her dogs.

A fundraising page has been set up to help the owner replace her belongings and home.

The next-door neighbours told Fox Newsthe car had ploughed right through the house. “The windows were broken, so I opened the back door of the car. She [Heche] answered and said she was not OK, so that was tough. I know they didn’t get her out of the car until the fire was pretty much put out.”

It was initially believed the actress may have under the influence of alcohol when she collided with the house after a bottle with a red cap was spotted in photos, however, police confirmed on Friday that Heche tested positive for cocaine and possibly fentanyl. Testing was still underway earlier today to determine whether the fentanyl was in her system during the crash, or had been administered in hospital for pain management.

It took firefighters an hour to extinguish the blaze caused by the crash. Picture: Fox 11

The actress, dated Ellen DeGeneres in the ‘90s, has been in an “extreme critical condition” at the medical centre following the fiery collision.

“She has a significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that require surgical intervention,” Heche’s rep said earlier this week.

“She is in a coma and has not regained consciousness since shortly after the accident.”

Just 21 minutes before the crash, Heche had been shopping and “seemed coherent” according to a hair salon owner who sold her a wig.

The actress even posed for a selfie with salon owner Richard Glass, 51, while buying a $125 red-haired wig and supplies.

The pic was timestamped 10:35am, Glass told The New York Post — meaning she left around 20 minutes before Heche’s car slammed into a house in nearby Mar Vista at 10:56am.

“I didn’t expect — or suspect — anything at all,” he said of the star.

“She was polite, cordial and engaging — and she was coherent,” insisted Glass. “It was extremely pleasant — she was a delight,” he said.

Heche posed for a selfie at a hair salon before getting in her car.

Asked if he spotted any signs of her being drunk or on drugs, he insisted firmly: “Not at all.”

Anne was born in Aurora, Ohio, the youngest in a struggling family of five children.

Heche got her start at a young age in soap operas. She played identical twins Vicky Hudson and Marley Love on Another World from 1987 to 1991 and vaulted into movies like Wag the Dog and Donnie Brasco. One of her biggest films was 1998’s Six Days Seven Nights opposite Harrison Ford.

Heche leaves behind two sone. Picture: Michael Tullberg/Getty Images.

Heche had long struggled with alcohol and drug addiction, and had opened up in past interviews about alleged sexual abuse she suffered from since she was a toddler until the age of 12 at the hands of her father, Don Heche, who died from AIDS in 1983. His family had not known he was gay until shortly before his death.

The actress had also headlines in the past for a public breakdown she suffered decades ago after the end of her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres.

She is survived by her sons, 20-year-old Homer, from her marriage to Coleman Laffoon, and 13-year-old Atlas, whose father is actor James Tupper.