Anne Heche's family and friends have made the difficult decision to take her off life support after she was pronounced brain dead following her tragic car crash on Friday, August 5th, reports Deadline. The actress is being kept on a ventilator until it's determined if any organs not damaged in the crash and subsequent fire can be donated.

“We want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers for Anne’s recovery and thank the dedicated staff and wonderful nurses that cared for Anne at the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills hospital," a rep for Heche's family and friends said in a statement to Deadline. “Unfortunately, due to her accident, Anne Heche suffered a severe anoxic brain injury and remains in a coma, in critical condition. She is not expected to survive. It has long been her choice to donate her organs and she is being kept on life support to determine if any are viable."

The statement continued, “Anne had a huge heart and touched everyone she met with her generous spirit. More than her extraordinary talent, she saw spreading kindness and joy as her life’s work — especially moving the needle for acceptance of who you love. She will be remembered for her courageous honesty and dearly missed for her light.”

There are also plans for Heche to get Honor Walk, which is a hero's goodbye donor patients receive by hospital staff as they are wheeled into the operating room for their last time.

The Emmy-winning actress has been hospitalized since her accident in which she crashed her car into a Mar Vista house. The internet crash caused the house to ignite and Heche sustained severe burns. The house's owner and pet were able to safely evacuate, but it took 59 firefighters to put out the blaze that engulfed both the home and Heche's car. It took 65 minutes before she could be safely pulled out of the wreckage.

Heche was able to communicate at the time of rescue but lost consciousness shortly after and has been in a coma since. On Monday, August 8th, she was reported to be in "extreme critical condition.
There has also been much speculation about her condition before the crash since she was filmed driving erratically and speeding down a street just minutes prior to the crash which included getting into another minor car accident blocks away from the crash site. “Based on the blood work, it revealed the presence of narcotics,” Officer Lizeth Lomeli of the LAPD revealed on Wednesday, August 11th.

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Kristin Lessard