(CNN) The alarming statement “A car just went through my neighbor’s house” opens the 911 call.
The caller, as heard on an audio recorded and made public by TMZ, was not aware that the seasoned actor was driving or that anyone was still inside the vehicle when Anne Heche struck a property in Los Angeles on August 5. The car was about 10 feet into the home, the caller informed the operator.
The caller stated that everyone in the house was present and that he was unsure of the number of passengers in the automobile at the time of the collision.
The caller added, “Someone is unlocking the back to see if we can enter since they’re kind of confined within the car.” As the dispatcher struggled to ascertain whether the smoke was coming from the house or the car, two voices shouted “fire!” and “hoses!” in the background.
According to investigators, Heche’s collision with the two-story house in the Mar Vista area started a raging fire that took 59 firefighters more than an hour to put out. She was severely burned, among other ailments, and remained in a coma until her passing on Sunday.
There are still unanswered questions about that awful day, but additional details about what happened before Heche’s tragedy have emerged.
A “random” morning encounter and a red wig
Heche bought a red wig at a Venice hair salon about two miles away from the crash site, about 20 minutes before her automobile crashed into the house.
She arrived into the hair salon through a back door at around 10:35 a.m. that day, according to owner Richard Glass, who spoke with the Los Angeles Times.
She chose a blue wig from a shelf of wigs in the shampoo section. She chose a red wig instead after Glass informed her that the black wig was already taken, he said the publication.
When Glass recognised her, they snapped a selfie, which they both uploaded on Instagram.
He captioned the photo, “So I met @anneheche today and she bought a #redwig so weird.”
Heche clutched on to her new wig in the picture while grinning broadly and wearing her blonde hair in a short, unkempt style.
Glass informed the publication that he made an estimation of Heche’s arrival time at the salon using the time stamp on the images. It ended up being one of her last pictures taken before the accident.
When contacted by CNN, Glass declined to share more information, calling the circumstances “bizarre and awful” and adding they had a negative impact on him.
He told CNN that he had found it challenging to deal with the “huge sentiments of grief I get at seeing the awful loss of someone’s life, as well as the cyberbullying from strangers, the random phone calls and all of the outreach that come from it.”
A two-story residence was struck by a fiery accident around 20 minutes later.
Heche’s fast car crashed into a Los Angeles home shortly after her visit at the hair salon, according to authorities. The burned-out remains of the automobile and the smokey scene were captured on video.
Los Angeles Flames Department: “Single passenger vehicle struck and came to rest well within a 738 square foot two-story residence built in 1952, causing structural compromise and erupting in intense fire.”
According to the authorities, it took the roughly 60 firefighters 65 minutes to put out the fire and save Heche. She was very ill when she was brought to the hospital.
The house was occupied by Marley the tortoise, two dogs named Bree and Rueban, and Lynne Mishele. Despite barely escaping the fire alive, neighbour Roy Morgen told CNN station KCAL/KCBS that they almost completely lost everything. Mishele was seated around two feet from where Heche’s car had stopped, according to Morgen.
Heche was involved in a different hit-and-run incident right before the collision, but due to her terrible injuries, police were unable to interview her about it, a law enforcement source said. Authorities from the LAPD told CNN that they have no intentions to disclose any information about that incident.
Heche was working on a number of initiatives at the time of the accident, including the podcast “Better Together,” which celebrated enduring friendships. Prior to the incident, Heche discussed having a difficult day in a podcast episode. The podcast featured her saying, “Today’s been a pretty strange day. I’m not sure what happened, but some days are just bad.
When the episode was filmed is unknown. Up until a few minutes prior to the incident, little was known about her whereabouts that morning.
A 911 call and concern for a person who is confined
The 911 call sheds light on the commotion at the crash site.
The caller said in the panicked voice that the car had moved so quickly that it was already in the second room of the house. Caller: “Like 10 feet into the house.”
Later, while others shouted in the background that someone was trapped in the car, the caller informed dispatch that the automobile was on fire and the smoke was growing “very black.” In the distance, sirens were blaring.
The caller announced, “Here comes the paramedic.” Until the paramedics begin assisting the victim, dispatch advised the caller to remain on the line.
A positive drug test and an investigation that was closed
Heche was taken to the hospital after the collision in critical condition.
Tests later revealed she was under the influence of drugs, according to police, after detectives obtained a search order for her blood sample.
According to her spokeswoman, the actress endured severe burns and a significant lung injury that necessitated a ventilator. Later, according to her relatives and friends, she also suffered from a serious anoxic brain injury, which happens when the brain is oxygen-deprived.
She was kept on life support up to her death on Sunday in order to see if her organs were suitable for donation and a match could be found.
Her blood test results indicated symptoms of intoxication, upgrading the case from a misdemeanour DUI, and the LAPD first declared that she was being investigated for felony DUI.
Authorities abandoned their felony investigation into the collision when she passed away, according to police.
Cheri Mossburg, Josh Campbell, and Chloe Melas of CNN contributed to this story.
