(CNN) — The 911 call about actress Anne Heche’s accident begins with a chilling remark: “A car just drove through my neighbor’s house.”
Heche crashed his blue Mini Cooper into a house in Los Angeles on August 5. And the person who called 911, as heard on a recording obtained and released by TMZ, didn’t know the actress was behind the wheel, or that anyone was still inside the car at the time. The neighbor who called told the 911 person that the car was about 10 feet inside the house.
No one was missing among those in the house, the neighbor said on the call. He added that he was not sure how many people were in the car when it crashed.
“Someone’s opening the back to see if we can get in because they’re kind of stuck…in the car,” the caller continued. In the background, a voice shouted “Fire!” and another called pipes, as the 911 controller tried to determine if the smoke was in the house or the car.
Anne Heche was in a coma for several days after her car crashed into a house in Los Angeles.
The Heche accident at the two-story house in the Mar Vista neighborhood sparked a fire that 59 firefighters took over an hour to turn off, according to the authorities. The actress suffered severe burns and other injuries. He was in a coma until his death on Sunday August 14.
As questions remain about that tragic day, additional information has emerged about the events leading up to Heche’s crash.
A red wig and a “random” morning encounter
About 20 minutes before his car crashed into the house, Heche made a curious purchase: a red wig from a hair salon in Venice, about two miles from the crash site.
At around 10:35 a.m. that day, he entered the saloon through the back door, owner Richard Glass told the newspaper. Los Angeles Times.
The actress looked at the wigs on a shelf in the shampoo area and picked out a blue one. Glass told her someone else had already bought her, so she opted for a red wig, she told the publication.
Glass recognized Heche and they took a few selfies. Later, he posted on Instagram one of these photos.
“So I met @anneheche today and she randomly bought a red wig,” she captioned the photo.
With a beaming smile – her blonde hair short and messy – Heche held her new wig in the photo.
Glass used the timestamp in the photos to estimate Heche’s arrival time at the salon, she told the Los Angeles Times. It turned out to be one of his last photos before the accident.
Contacted by CNN, Glass declined to provide further details. He said the “strange and horrible” situation had been difficult to deal with and had taken its toll on him.
“I quickly discovered that it was difficult to deal with the…cyber-harassment of strangers, the random phone calls and all the range that comes with it. Along with the overwhelming feelings of pain I get from seeing the tragic loss of someone’s life.” he told CNN.
About 20 minutes later, a strong collision with a two-story house
Shortly after driving past the salon, Heche crashed her car at full speed into a Los Angeles home, police said. Footage from the scene showed the car’s charred bodywork and clouds of smoke.
“A single passenger vehicle collided and came to rest inside a 68.5 square meter two-story house built in 1952, causing structural hazard and starting a massive fire,” the official said. Los Angeles Fire Department in a statement.
It took about 65 minutes for nearly 60 firefighters to douse the flames and save Heche, authorities said. She was immediately transferred to the hospital in critical condition.
Lynne Mishele lived in the house with her puppies, Bree and Rueban, and her turtle Marley. They barely made it out alive but lost almost everything in the fire, neighbor Roy Morgen told CNN affiliate KCAL/KCBS. Heche’s car stopped about two feet from where Mishele was sitting, Morgen said.
Just prior to the accident, Heche was involved in another hit-and-run incident, known as “hit and run” in English. But his serious injuries prevented officers from questioning him about it, a police source said. Los Angeles police officials told CNN that no further details about the incident are expected.
Heche was working on several projects, including the “Better Together” podcast, which highlighted meaningful friendships. In an episode of the podcast released before the accident, the actress opened up about having a bad day. “Today was a unique day,” he said on the podcast. “I don’t know what happened, sometimes the days suck,” he added.
Now, it’s unclear when the episode was taped. Not much is known of his whereabouts that morning until a few minutes before the crash.
A 911 call and a panic over a trapped victim
The call to 911 gives an idea of the panic that was experienced at the scene of the accident.
In the frantic audio, the caller told 911 that the car was going so fast it went all the way to the second bedroom in the house. “Like 10 feet inside the house,” the caller said.
He later told the dispatcher that the car was on fire and the smoke was turning “really black”. Meanwhile, other people shouted in the background that someone was stuck in the car. Sirens sounded in the background.
“Here is the paramedic,” the caller said. The operator urged the caller to stay on the phone until doctors began to help the victim.
A positive doping test and an investigation closed without further action against Anne Heche
Anne Heche was hospitalized in critical condition after the accident.
Detectives obtained a warrant to test a blood sample from the actress, and subsequent tests indicated she was under the influence of narcotics, police said.
Heche’s spokesperson told CNN the actress had a severe lung injury that required a ventilator, in addition to severe burns. Her family and friends later noted that she also suffered severe anoxic brain damage, which occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen.
Until died August 14she was kept on life support to determine if her organs were viable for donation and a match was found.
Los Angeles police initially announced they were investigating Heche for felony DUI after his blood tests showed signs of impaired driving, clearing him of a misdemeanor DUI.
After his death, authorities dropped their criminal investigation into the crash, police said.
Josh Campbell, Chloe Melas and Cheri Mossburg, all of CNN, contributed to this report.