UPDATE 2:50 p.m.: A rep for Heche now says she is in “extreme critical” condition and in a coma. Click here for updates on her condition.
Anne Heche could face criminal hit-and-run and DUI charges depending on the outcome of a blood sample take under warrant by police on the night she crashed her car into a Los Angeles home, TheWrap has learned.
Heche was badly burned Friday after speeding her Mini Cooper down a residential street in the west Los Angeles neighborhood of Mar Vista, slamming into a home so hard that it nearly crashed through to the other side, setting the structure ablaze. No one else was hurt, though the homeowner was inside and “narrowly” escaped injury, according to reports.
Firefighters struggled to douse the flames for several excruciating minutes while Heche sat in the charred and rumpled vehicle, which was finally yanked out by a giant LAFD crane. In a bizarre moment that played out on live TV, Heche sprang from her covering and restraints as firefighters loaded the gurney into an ambulance.
A warrant was obtained Friday to draw blood from Heche, who was listed in critical condition but upgraded to stable over the weekend, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson told TheWrap. Reps for Heche did not immediately return messages Friday, and it couldn’t be determined whether she was represented by a lawyer.
The wild ride began around 11 a.m. Friday when Heche crashed her Mini Cooper crossover into the garage of an apartment residence and became stuck. Tenants tried to help before she sped off with squealing tires – moments later, she struck the home a short distance away.
LAPD public information officer Annie Hernandez says the investigation is ongoing, but its direction won’t be determined until the results of the blood test, which could take weeks. Heche could face misdemeanor DUI and hit-and-run charges if authorities determine she was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Had Heche caused injury or death, the consequences she faces would have been far more serious. But the statues for misdemeanors like reckless driving, DUI, and minor hit-and-run tend to carry sentences of no more than six months, with most first-time defendants pleading their way out of jail beyond time served.
Witness photos of the apartment-building incident posted on TMZ showed what looked like a liquor bottle in the cupholder of the Mini Cooper. Reports surfaced over the weekend that Heche had recorded an episode of her “Better Together” podcast earlier Friday, in which she talked about drinking and sounded intoxicated; however, it was determined that the episode had been recorded days before.
Heche could also be held responsible in civil court for damage to the house, which firefighters red-tagged, meaning damaged beyond repair. The owner was home at the time, Fox News reported Monday, and “very narrowly escaped” being harmed. The homeowner’s neighbors have started a GoFundMe campaign that had raised nearly $60,000 by Monday.
“Fifty-nine firefighters took 65 minutes to access, confine and fully extinguish the stubborn flames within the heavily damaged structure and rescued one female adult found within the vehicle who has been taken to an area hospital by LAFD Paramedics in critical condition,” the LAFD said in a written statement.
Heche, who famously dated Ellen DeGeneres from 1997 to 2000, has recounted tales of abuse and other childhood trauma in several interviews over the years. She released a memoir in 2003 titled “Call Me Crazy,” and is open about her history of personal troubles and mental health challenges.
In 2000, she drove from Los Angeles to a small town outside of Fresno, parked on the roadside and knocked on the door of a random home. The woman who answered recognized Heche, giving her water, a pair of slippers and letting her take a shower. When Heche settled in to her living room and asked to watch a movie, the woman called police.