Chilling details on Anne Heche's fatal crash have emerged
Los Angeles, California - Almost a month after the terrible accident that killed Anne Heche, new details about the accident have emerged: the actor was reportedly trapped in her car for almost an hour before she could be freed!
As reported by NBC4, recordings of radio calls from the emergency services have provided chilling details about the hour that followed the 53-year-old's fatal and fiery crash.
On the morning of August 5, Heche crashed her Mini Cooper into a residence in LA. The first fire truck arrived at the scene of the accident at 11:01 AM local time, and it was immediately reported that a person was apparently still trapped in the crashed car.
Emergency medical responders and rescue workers reached the scene shortly after, but the fire that had broken out at the home and the smoke it created made the environment extremely difficult to maneuver. "You couldn't see inside the vehicle or reach it," explained Richard Fields, deputy chief of the LA Fire Department.
After a short time, a woman was rescued from the flames. However, it was not the actor, but the resident of the house.
Unbeknownst to responders, Heche was still stuck in her car. It was not until 11:25 AM, 24 minutes after the first rescuers arrived, that a firefighter radioed they had discovered a person trapped inside a crashed car.
Only after 48 minutes the fire department can free Anne Heche
According to Fields, Heche was not in the driver's seat when discovered, but near the floor board of the passenger seat.
With the help of a tow truck, the Mini Cooper was finally pulled out of the burning house, allowing responders to remove Heche from her car to be assessed by doctors around 11:49 AM.
So, 48 minutes had passed since the first firefighters arrived, all the while Heche was helplessly bound inside her blazing car.
In retrospect, the fire department explained that they could not have helped her any faster under the circumstances. Because of the house fire, it would have taken at least 30 minutes either way before they could have sought out and rescued the car's occupant.
Anne Heche remained in a coma for seven days after the accident and was then declared brain-dead before she was taken off of life support on August 12.
Cover photo: Collage: Jesse Grant / GETTY / Chris Delmas / AFP / IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP