Actress Anne Heche is expected to survive a fiery car crash that occurred in the Mar Vista area of Los Angeles on Friday. Witnesses told TMZ that the I Know What You Did Last Summer actress was driving a blue Mini Cooper and crashed into the garage of an apartment complex. TMZ reported residents of the apartment complex tried getting Heche out of the vehicle, but she put the car in reverse and then sped off. A short time later, she crashed into a nearby home, igniting a heavy fire. The fire engulfed the house, and firefighters were sent to the 1800 block of South Walgrove Avenue. Fifty-nine firefighters arrived on the scene, and took 65 minutes to fully contain and extinguish the fire.

After obtaining an image of Heche taken through the passenger side window, TMZ further reported:

“Look closely at the photo of Anne inside the car (above) ... there's a bottle with a red cap in the cupholder next to the gearshift, and it looks like a bottle of alcohol. We do not know the extent of her injuries or burns. We're told she's currently in the hospital intubated but expected to live."

Heche apparently suffered severe burns in the fire. Her clothes were seen as charred as she was taken away on a stretcher. At one point and while covered in a white cloth, she suddenly sat up on the stretcher and started flailing wildly as they put her in the ambulance. Reportedly, her condition prevents doctors from performing any tests to determine if she was driving under the influence of alcohol. Heche’s car was completely charred in the fiery crash and her burned back was visible as she sat up on the stretcher.

More About Anne Heche

Anne Heche received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series in 1991 for her roles as Vicky Hudson and Marley Love in the soap opera Another World. She is also known for her high-profile romance with Ellen DeGeneres in the 1990s. The 53-year-old actress has been open about a painful childhood that stemmed from being sexually abused by her father and her previous battle with substance abuse. In 2020, Heche told ABC News:

“I drank. I smoked. I did drugs. I had sex with people. I did anything I could to get the shame out of my life. I’m not crazy. But it’s a crazy life. I was raised in a crazy family, and it took 31 years to get the crazy out of me.”

KTLA reports that Heche suffered “serious burns.” No other injuries were reported, and the cause of the crash is under investigation. Reps for Heche could not immediately be reached.