LOS-ANGELES — Anne Heche, an actor and actress, died of inhalation injuries and burns following a fiery car accident. The death was ruled accidental by the coroner’s findings released Wednesday.
Heche and 53, both had fractured sternums due to “blunt trauma,” according the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner Coroner.
A full autopsy report is still in progress, according to the coroner’s Office.
The Emmy-winning television and film actor was taken off life support at a hospital. Her car crashed into a West Los Angeles house on August 5. Both the car and home were set on fire. Heche survived the accident.
Heche was diagnosed with a severe anoxic brain injury due to lack of oxygen. This statement was made last week by her family.
She had been declared brain dead but she was given life support to ensure that her organs can be donated.
Detectives investigating the crash claimed that narcotics had been found in Heche’s blood. Police ended her investigation when she was declared brain dead.
The coroner listed August 11 for her death date.
Heche was first prominent on “Another World”, an NBC soap opera, in the late 1980s. Then she became one of Hollywood’s hottest stars in the late 1990s.
