After the horrific car accident on August 5, Anne Heche has finally been taken off life support, PEOPLE confirms. Her family opted to donate her organs, which they know the actress would have wanted. At the present moment, there is not any information available about the patient who received her organs.
Loved ones say goodbye to Anne Heche
The actress was officially declared deceased on August 12, a week after the accident took place. However, medical teams deemed life support temporarily necessary to check out her organs’ condition. Anne Heche always supported organ donation and wanted to donate hers as well. Her healthcare team officially removed her from life support on August 14.
“Today we lost a bright light, a kind and most joyful soul, a loving mother, and a loyal friend,” one of Anne Heche’s representatives told PEOPLE. “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.”
Anne Heche competed on Dancing With The Stars Season 29 with Keo Motsepe. The two finished in 13th place out of 15 couples. Though their run on the show was brief, many DWTS cast members shared tributes to Anne online.
“I love you @anneheche,” Keo captioned his own post. It was short and simple, but let everyone know how he felt about his former dance partner.
DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba left a lengthier post, writing how much she admired Anne Heche’s strength and courage.
The homeowner involved in the crash offers her condolences
Entertainment Weekly reports that even Lynne Mishele, the woman whose home Anne Heche crashed into, offered her support to the family.
“The news of Anne Heche passing is devastating,” Mishele stated in an Instagram video. “Her family and her friends and her children especially, really have suffered a great loss and my heart goes out for them. This entire situation is tragic and there really are just no words. I’m sending love to everybody involved.”
Lynne Mishele didn’t sustain injuries in the crash. She and her pets managed to escape the fire with their lives. However, authorities declared the home a total loss.
“The house was tons of smoke. I think they used the crane to move the car to extract the driver. It was crazy,” an eyewitness told NBC Los Angeles just after the crash happened. TMZ reported that authorities had plenty of reason to believe that Anne Heche was impaired during the time of the crash.
