Anne Heche - 53 - dies after fiery car crash in Los Angeles August 5 2022

[Gemmie]

Max auto limits here are 100/300/100. That house will cost more than that to repair. I wonder what the subrogation suits will look like in this one?

That's what an umbrella policy is for and I'd think she'd have one. I'm a nobody that doesn't have her kind of money, yet I have one.

​

 

[PrairieWind]

Max auto limits here are 100/300/100. That house will cost more than that to repair. I wonder what the subrogation suits will look like in this one?

There really isn't a max you can have, just what you want to pay for. And as mentioned a moment ago, someone like AH should have an umbrella policy. But it isn't all that unusual to see celebrities that are incredibly irresponsible and cheap with things like this.

 

[AtlantaBourne]

IMO, I am a curious person by nature...
So I have to ponder what is up with the STOP sign at the intersection where AH crashed? IMO I see lots of red in the picture of fire trucks, but NOT the STOP sign.
JMOO

 

[PrairieWind]

It almost looks like the stop sign is facing the wrong way, doesn't it?

 

[Gemmie]

IMO, I am a curious person by nature...
So I have to ponder what is up with the STOP sign at the intersection where AH crashed? IMO I see lots of red in the picture of fire trucks, but NOT the STOP sign.
JMOO

Looks like that sign could use some red paint. You can barely make it out in the blown-up Goog map pic. Never seen that before. Either way, that huge hedge at the end should have been a clue to stop. But back to the VERY faded stop sign... could her estate sue the city (or whomever) for the fact that sign isn't clearly visible due to how faded it is? I went down a few blocks to see if I could find another stop sign and it was clearly red, unlike this one. Very odd. I don't believe I've ever seen a street sign like that so faded.

 

[Gemmie]

It almost looks like the stop sign is facing the wrong way, doesn't it?

It's very faded. See my post below yours with a blown-up pic. But that was my first thought (that it was turned around) which is why I went to check it out on Goog maps and enlarge it.

 

[neesaki]

Looks like that sign could use some red paint. You can barely make it out in the blown-up Goog map pic. Never seen that before. Either way, that huge hedge at the end should have been a clue to stop. But back to the VERY faded stop sign... could her estate sue to city (or whomever) for the fact that sign isn't clearly visible due to how faded it is? I went down a few blocks to see if I could find another stop sign and it was clearly red, unlike this one. Very odd. I don't believe I've ever seen a street sign like that so faded.
View attachment 361425

That's crazy! Why no Red sign ?

 

[AtlantaBourne]

It's very faded. See my post below yours with a blown-up pic. But that was my first thought (that it was turned around) which is why I went to check it out on Goog maps and enlarge it.

I first noticed this sign when watching the initial helicopter coverage filmed before anyone knew AH was in the car. Thought it was just the angle from the air. Your pic really shows the chalky oxidation(?) on the sign. Oh, & I cannot locate the most recent pic, but, the sign there now is bright red.
JMO

 

[neesaki]

Was the first time she crashed also at an intersection with a stop sign? Does anyone know? TIA

 

[PrairieWind]

It's very faded. See my post below yours with a blown-up pic. But that was my first thought (that it was turned around) which is why I went to check it out on Goog maps and enlarge it.

Oh wow, from the photo you provided I can see that now. I don't think I have ever seen a stop sign faded that bad before.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Fair enough. But there's also the perspective that to normalize mental illness we should treat it as any other illness. We don't avoid taking about diabetes, or obesity, or heart disease. We don't even avoid talking about how lifestyle choices impact those conditions even though talking might make some people feel criticized and lead them to not seek treatment. And if TMZ is correct and it was cocaine and fentanyl that "caused" the crash, substance abuse is also a mental illness.
JMO

But we can't "normalize" mental illness if we only assign it to someone to explain bad (or illegal) behavior. And just to clarify, addiction is a mental illness; substance abuse/misuse is not.

Regardless, I don't think we'll ever know sadly. I just hope she can finally rest in peace.

 

[Gemmie]

I first noticed this sign when watching the initial helicopter coverage filmed before anyone knew AH was in the car. Thought it was just the angle from the air. Your pic really shows the chalky oxidation(?) on the sign. Oh, & I cannot locate the most recent pic, but, the sign there now is bright red.
JMO

Well isn't that interesting. They fix it NOW?

I thought the pics you posted were the angle also. Hence me running over to Google for a look see! As you said, it's clearly oxidized. Too little too late. I don't want to even think that a unoxidized sign could have saved her.

 

[squareandrabbet]

I guess I don't understand the relevance though. Mania doesn't make you crash your car. It can make you impulsive, sure, but so can a dozen other things. Some patients do crash when they're manic, but many other crash when they're not manic. I think that when it comes to mental illness, blaming behavior on a mental health condition in the absence of any indication of it, perpetuates stigma. Mental illness seems to be a catch-all for the public to explain anything they can't explain any other way and it just makes me sad.

Are Heche’s behaviors in her car, including the near accidents before the accident, the actions of a rational person?

if it were some other sort of medical crisis - no doctor myself, but IDK - what type of medical crisis makes someone suddenly start careening their car around like a pinball in a machine, and then flee like a panicked bat out of hell?

If you, for example, think you’re having a heart attack, don’t you pull over and stop moving?

were the police chasing her and I just didn’t notice?

 

[tayaway]

The answer seems to be:
Cocaine + fentanyl.
As was reported.
MOO

But as some stated above, do we have a more official source than the TMZ report? The only thing I've read said the LAPD had questions about whether the fentanyl was administered at the hospital. Was that question ever answered?
JMO

Sadly, TMZ starts the rumours and other sources seem to quote them until rumour becomes accepted fact. The only official statement from LAPD that I'm aware of is that the investigation relating to any charges ended when AH died.

Are Heche’s behaviors in her car, including the near accidents before the accident, the actions of a rational person?

if it were some other sort of medical crisis - no doctor myself, but IDK - what type of medical crisis makes someone suddenly start careening their car around like a pinball in a machine, and then flee like a panicked bat out of hell?

If you, for example, think you’re having a heart attack, don’t you pull over and stop moving?

were the police chasing her and I just didn’t notice?

I didn't know there was an AH thread here, otherwise I would've stopped in sooner...

Yes, AH was flying high on cocaine when she drove 90mph into the house. Yes, we do have sources other than TMZ. If you can't access the Los Angeles Times article b/c of the paywall, you can read the Salon piece that references the LAT one. Here's the bit from LAT, which mentions cocaine and indirectly refers to fentanyl, which they needed a 2nd test to answer whether it was only given at the hospital for pain or if she was on both substances at the time of the accident:

Officer Annie Hernandez, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department, said a blood test showed the presence of narcotics, but those initial findings could be invalidated if medications at the hospital turned out to be the narcotics.

A second blood test will be administered to rule out any substances that were given at the hospital as part of Heche’s medical treatment, said LAPD Public Information Officer Jeff Lee.

The results of the second test could take anywhere from 30 to 90 days.

Another law enforcement source [LAPD PI Officer Jeff Lee] told The Times that the initial blood test also showed that Heche had cocaine in her system after the crash.

 

[NCWatcher]

I didn't know there was an AH thread here, otherwise I would've stopped in sooner...

Yes, AH was flying high on cocaine when she drove 90mph into the house. Yes, we do have sources other than TMZ. If you can't access the Los Angeles Times article b/c of the paywall, you can read the Salon piece that references the LAT one. Here's the bit from LAT, which mentions cocaine and indirectly refers to fentanyl, which they needed a 2nd test to answer whether it was only given at the hospital for pain or if she was on both substances at the time of the accident:

Officer Annie Hernandez, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department, said a blood test showed the presence of narcotics, but those initial findings could be invalidated if medications at the hospital turned out to be the narcotics.

A second blood test will be administered to rule out any substances that were given at the hospital as part of Heche’s medical treatment, said LAPD Public Information Officer Jeff Lee.

The results of the second test could take anywhere from 30 to 90 days.

Another law enforcement source [LAPD PI Officer Jeff Lee] told The Times that the initial blood test also showed that Heche had cocaine in her system after the crash.

Thanks for the links.

She may have been on both those drugs. Probably was. But the Salon piece references TMZ as the source for LAPD information.

"New information has been released by the Los Angeles Police Department providing further background on the factors involved in Anne Heche's near fatal car crash last week. While it was widely speculated that Heche had been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, tests of her blood performed at the hospital show signs of cocaine and fentanyl, according to TMZ.

And the LA Times article seems to use named sources only when speaking of the need to sort out the hospital-administered "narcotics" from those in her system at the time of the crash. (Unclear if cocaine is considered a narcotic in that context.)

The article then says (italics added by me) "Another law enforcement source told The Times that the initial blood test also showed that Heche had cocaine in her system after the crash." You've suggested that source was Officer Lee but I don't see that in the article. Maybe his name was in a different article.

I don't think it's surprising people still wonder given the reporting.
JMO

 

[tayaway]

Thanks for the links.

She may have been on both those drugs. Probably was. But the Salon piece references TMZ as the source for LAPD information.

"New information has been released by the Los Angeles Police Department providing further background on the factors involved in Anne Heche's near fatal car crash last week. While it was widely speculated that Heche had been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, tests of her blood performed at the hospital show signs of cocaine and fentanyl, according to TMZ.

And the LA Times article seems to use named sources only when speaking of the need to sort out the hospital-administered "narcotics" from those in her system at the time of the crash. (Unclear if cocaine is considered a narcotic in that context.)

The article then says (italics added by me) "Another law enforcement source told The Times that the initial blood test also showed that Heche had cocaine in her system after the crash." You've suggested that source was Officer Lee but I don't see that in the article. Maybe his name was in a different article.

I don't think it's surprising people still wonder given the reporting.
JMO

The Salon article also references the LAT piece when discussing cocaine and narcotics* (fentanyl).

There is some uncertainty as to what hospital-administered drugs factored in to Heche's blood tests, according to LAPD Public Information Officer Jeff Lee in a statement made to Los Angeles Times, so a second test will be administered with the hope of receiving those final results in 30 to 90 days.

On Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported that an officer for the LAPD had confirmed an investigation on the details of the crash, which took place on the 1700 block of South Walgrove Avenue in Mar Vista, a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, and that a search warrant had been obtained to test Heche's blood as part of that investigation.

*In this media context, it's implied that narcs refers to opiates/synthesized opiates (fentanyl), although current American law, 21 US Code 802 includes cocaine in the same category.

O Lee was mentioned by name in the Salon article (see quote included) as referenced to the LAT article.

 

[NCWatcher]

The Salon article also references the LAT piece when discussing cocaine and narcotics* (fentanyl).

There is some uncertainty as to what hospital-administered drugs factored in to Heche's blood tests, according to LAPD Public Information Officer Jeff Lee in a statement made to Los Angeles Times, so a second test will be administered with the hope of receiving those final results in 30 to 90 days.

On Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported that an officer for the LAPD had confirmed an investigation on the details of the crash, which took place on the 1700 block of South Walgrove Avenue in Mar Vista, a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, and that a search warrant had been obtained to test Heche's blood as part of that investigation.

*In this media context, it's implied that narcs refers to opiates/synthesized opiates (fentanyl), although current American law, 21 US Code 802 includes cocaine in the same category.

O Lee was mentioned by name in the Salon article (see quote included) as referenced to the LAT article.

But I don't believe there was a question as to whether the hospital had given her cocaine. I know it does have medicinal uses but both the named sources (Lee and Hernandez) in the Times and the Salon article appear to be discussing the fentanyl when discussing the need for another test. And while US law calls cocaine a narcotic, pharmacologically it's not. So it's not clear to me that either named speaker is referring to cocaine, only the unnamed LAPD source is for sure. And TMZ (referenced in the Salon piece.)

JMO

 

[Gemmie]

I didn't know there was an AH thread here, otherwise I would've stopped in sooner...

RSBM

Hopefully this won't get removed for being off topic.

You should do what I learned to do. Whenever I see something in the news that I'm interested in, the first thing I do is Google for whatever it is, adding the word Websleuths to my search. Most times I find y'all already have a thread going! My reasoning is I really respect the lot of you. You're smart, reason things out, and there are a LOT of people much more knowledgeable than I am on numerous topics. Very smart people. I immediately head here because I think the content here is better than a lot of news sources (even though you guys get your info from news sources. LOL). You find a lot of worthwhile MSM that I don't have the time to dig through. And you do it QUICKLY too I might add!

 

[GatorFL]

That's what an umbrella policy is for and I'd think she'd have one. I'm a nobody that doesn't have her kind of money, yet I have one.

​

She hadn't been a big name in a long time and a Google search shows she was only worth $4 million. That's really not much of a fortune in Hollywood.

It will be interesting to see how all this plays out legally.

 

[ktm44]

But I don't believe there was a question as to whether the hospital had given her cocaine. I know it does have medicinal uses but both the named sources (Lee and Hernandez) in the Times and the Salon article appear to be discussing the fentanyl when discussing the need for another test. And while US law calls cocaine a narcotic, pharmacologically it's not. So it's not clear to me that either named speaker is referring to cocaine, only the unnamed LAPD source is for sure. And TMZ (referenced in the Salon piece.)

JMO

I have never found any credible indication that she had cocaine in her system but I really don't think it matters much anymore because I did read that LAPD ended their investigation when she died because she could no longer face charges.