adminLOS ANGELES. – US actress Anne Heche has been “peacefully taken off life support” after a suitable donor recipient was found, a spokesperson has confirmed.
A representative for the late star confirmed her death to the PA news agency on Sunday.
On Friday, the 53-year-old was legally declared dead after suffering a “severe anoxic brain injury” while crashing her car into a house in LA.
She had been kept on life support in case her organs could be donated.
It is not known how many or which organs will be donated but, according to NBC News, surgeons were ready to perform the implants.
In a statement, Heche’s spokesperson Holly Baird said the actress was “peacefully taken off life support” after a compatible person was found to receive her donated organs,
Earlier on Sunday, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said they had concluded their investigation into Heche’s crash, which had left her in a coma.
“As of today, there will be no further investigative efforts made in this case,” they said in a statement.
“Any information or records that have been requested prior to this turn of events will still be collected as they arrive as a matter of formalities and included in the overall case.
“When a person suspected of a crime expires (dies), we do not present for filing consideration.”
The department previously confirmed the crash was being investigated as a felony driving-under-the-influence (DUI) traffic collision after preliminary blood tests showed the presence of drugs in Heche’s system.
Additional testing was required to rule out substances administered in the hospital.
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) said last week her vehicle “erupted in heavy fire”, which took 59 fire-fighters more than an hour to fully extinguish.
As well as suffering burns, the actress was left with “a severe anoxic brain injury” – when the brain is deprived of oxygen – her family said.
The two-storey home she crashed into was left “inhabitable”.
Lynne Mishele, the woman whose house she fatally crashed into, shared her sorrow at the news of the actress’s death on social media.
“The news of Anne Heche passing is devastating,” posted Mishele online. “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 just tragic and there really are just no words,” she added. “I’m sending love to everyone involved.”
A fund set up to help Mishele with costs has so far raised more than $174,000 (£146,000).
Heche was known for appearing in films including Volcano, Donnie Brasco and the 1998 remake of Psycho.
The mother-of-two also appeared on Dancing with the Stars, the US equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing, in 2020.
Her family said in a statement on Friday: “Today we lost a bright light, a kind and most joyful soul.”
Stars including actor Antonio Banderas and Heche’s former partner Ellen DeGeneres were among those paying tribute. – BBC.
Online Reporter