American actress Anne Heche has been pronounced dead after being seriously injured in a car accident in Los Angeles last week, a spokeswoman said on Friday.
The 53-year-old actress had been in a coma in hospital since a serious brain injury caused by a violent collision on August 5.
Having lost all her brain functions, Anne Heche "
is legally deceased according to California law
" but her heart is still beating in order to facilitate organ donation, her spokeswoman Holly Baird told AFP.
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“
Today we lose a radiant light, such a gentle and joyful soul, a loving mother and a loyal friend
,” the family said in a joint statement.
“
Anne will be deeply missed, but her wonderful sons, her immense work and her passionate fights will survive her
,” she adds.
Anne Heche played in a large number of films in the 1990s, including "
Six Days, Seven Nights
" or "
Donnie Brasco
".
She is also known for her role on the soap opera “
Another World,
” which won her a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991. In the 1990s, she had a high-profile relationship with anchor Ellen DeGeneres.
The actress has been in a coma since her car crashed into a two-story home in the Mar Vista neighborhood, "
causing structural damage and a massive fire
," according to Los Angeles Fire Department.
Blood tests
Los Angeles police said in a statement Thursday that they would conduct blood tests on Anne Heche and that investigators would "
bring the matter to the proper legal authority
."
The police, however, did not give any details on possible legal consequences.
Local media reported on Thursday that preliminary tests had come back positive for narcotics.
But other tests must be conducted to ensure that the positive result is not related to medical treatment.
According to TMZ, a publication specializing in celebrity coverage, which cites unnamed law enforcement sources, Anne Heche tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl, an ultra-potent and addictive synthetic opiate used in some treatments.
“
My brother Atlas and I have lost our mom
,” her son Homer Laffoon said in a separate statement.
“
I hope my mother is no longer in pain
,” he added.