LAPD obtains warrant to draw blood from Anne Heche after fiery car crash

Police in Los Angeles obtained a warrant Friday to draw blood from Anne Heche days after she crashed a car into a residential home, authorities said.

Heche, 53, could face misdemeanor DUI and hit-and-run charges if it is determined she was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Any findings on the case would be presented to the City Attorney’s Office.

The actor was hospitalized in stable condition after the incident in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Mar Vista shortly before 11 a.m. on Aug. 5.

The extent of her injuries was not immediately known, but the Los Angeles Fire Department reported a "heavy fire" engulfed the car and home with "stubborn flames" that took almost 60 firefighters over an hour to extinguish.

Photographs from the scene in the aftermath of the crash show Heche's blue Mini Cooper significantly burned and the front of the home destroyed. No other injuries were reported and Heche was driving alone, fire officials said.

In the wake of the crash, the Los Angeles Police Department said an investigation was ongoing and they were reviewing a possible incident of a misdemeanor hit and run prior to the fiery wreck. A department spokesperson also said the patient would be subject to a blood draw, which is done to determine if a driver may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Actor Thomas Jane, an ex-boyfriend of Heche, said she was intubated following the crash but was "expected to pull through."

"While Anne and I are no longer an item, today's tragic news was devastating to me and to all who love her. My heart goes out to Anne and her two sons," Jane said in a statement. "My thoughts and prayers are with Anne, one of the true talents of her generation. Thank God no one else was hurt."

Other Hollywood celebrities have come out in support of Heche, who starred in the films "Six Days Seven Nights," "Wag the Dog" and "Donnie Brasco" and won a Daytime Emmy in 1991 for her role in the NBC soap opera "Another World."

"I'm sorry that you had this tragic thing happen to you, and I'm sending you all my love, OK?” Alec Baldwin, who appeared with Heche in the 1996 movie "The Juror," said in an Instagram video.

Another ex-boyfriend of Heche, actor James Tupper, shared a photo on Instagram of her and their 13-year-old son, Atlas.

"Thoughts and prayers for this lovely woman, actress and mother tonight," wrote Tupper, who met Heche on the set of the television series "Men in Trees."

Rosanna Arquette tweeted that she has compassion for Heche's situation, but also wrote that it is "clearly not ok" to put lives in danger.

Heche's status gained prominence while she was dating comedian Ellen DeGeneres from 1997 to 2000. When their relationship ended, Heche was hospitalized after she was found wandering in a rural area of Fresno County, California, acting disoriented and confused, authorities said.

Heche described her struggles with her mental health in her 2001 memoir, "Call Me Crazy."

"I wanted to beat everybody else to the punch," she said about the book in an interview that year with Larry King. "I certainly know what's been written about me in the press. I, although I was never diagnosed as being crazy, I went crazy."

Heche also wrote about her relationship with DeGeneres. In 2020, she said it was groundbreaking as a high-profile, same-sex romance.

"My story is a story that created change in the world, moved the needle for equal rights forward, when I fell in love with Ellen DeGeneres," she said in a taped segment that year for the show "Dancing With the Stars," in which she competed.

Heche most recently had a recurring role in the CBS legal drama "All Rise." She also hosts a podcast with public relations guru Heather Duffy called "Better Together," in which they "celebrate friendship, and we believe that we can create more joy in the world by sharing our stories, stumbles, and triumphs."