Anne Heche’s manner of death has been ruled an accident.
The 53-year-old actress died due to inhalation of smoke and thermal injuries, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner.
A “sternal fracture due to blunt trauma” — often occurring when an accident victim’s chest hits the steering wheel — was another “significant condition” after she crashed her car into a Los Angeles home on Aug. 5.
A “sternal fracture due to blunt trauma” was another “significant condition” listed on Anne Heche’s manner of death ruling.Michael Bezjian/Getty Images for Mammoth Media Institute/BACKGRIDVideo of the demolished home shows firefighters working in the rubble-filled shell of the Mar Vista house after the actress’ crash started a huge blaze that took nearly 60 firefighters more than an hour to tackle.
“I was convinced she was burned up and gone,” David Manpearl, who lives nearby and was the first person on the scene, told The Post on Saturday. “I couldn’t imagine anyone surviving that.”
The scene where Anne Heche crashed a car into a house on Aug. 5, as seen one week later on Aug. 14. Getty ImagesHeche died Aug. 12 and her family took her off life support on Sunday after the “Six Days Seven Nights” star was involved in the fiery car crash in Los Angeles earlier this month. Her representative explained that she was “brain dead” — which, under California law, can be defined as death.
Heche — who was allegedly under the influence of cocaine and possibly fentanyl, according to prior reports — was driving her Mini Cooper when she slammed into the garage of an apartment complex, leaving a devastating scene behind and a structure that was declared unsafe.
The actress, a star of the NBC drama “The Brave,” never regained consciousness after suffering horrific burns in the crash. She had been kept on life support to preserve her organs for donation, according to her spokesperson.
Following Heche’s death, the Los Angeles Police Department chose not to move forward with an investigation into the mishap.
“As of today, there will be no further investigative efforts made in this case,” the department said on Saturday. “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, we do not present for filing consideration,” they added.
Before her death, the actress was being investigated for hit-and-run, as well as DUI, after tests reportedly showed she had cocaine in her system at the time of the crash.
