Residents in the Mar Vista community in Southern California have now raised over $111,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to help a woman who lost her home in a fire due to a car accident involving actress Anne Heche–who is in "extreme critical condition."
\u201cCalifornia community rallying around woman whose home caught fire after being struck by actress Anne Heche\u2019s car\n\nNeighbors raised more than $50,000 to support Lynne Mishele after her home was destroyed in the crash that left Heche hospitalized with burns.\nhttps://t.co/Vyp9ITb1FA\u201d— New York Daily News (@New York Daily News) 1659969605
Last week, Heche, a Daytime Emmy Award-winner who is known for starring in films like Six Days Seven Nights and Donnie Brasco, sustained serious injuries and was intubated after crashing her car twice in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Mar Vista.
According to the Huffington Post, the 53-year-old actress first crashed into an apartment building garage and a Jaguar car, and again into the home of Lynne Mishele.
The home, where Mishele reportedly was a renter, became engulfed in flames from the impact of Heche's Mini Cooper that was instantly set ablaze after the crash.
It took 65 minutes for 59 firefighters to extinguish the fire.
Michele and her pets made it out of the house alive without any major injuries.
\u201cGofundme for the woman (and pups!) whose house burned down after Anne Heche crashed into it:\nHelp Lynne Mishele after Devastating Fire Loss https://t.co/oy9n7pZv2X #AnneHeche\u201d— Leslie Grable \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Leslie Grable \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1659876903
\u201cHelp Lynne Mishele after Devastating Fire Loss https://t.co/1up9DmOZMi This is the woman who narrowly escaped death because of Anne Heche All you celebrities who feel so bad should be donating like crazy!!\u201d— Ree (@Ree) 1659879941
You can watch a news report of the incident, here.
Anne Heche in Fiery Car Crashwww.youtube.com
Heche, whose health condition was worse than previously reported after the accident, is under investigation by the Los Angeles Police who are looking into the possibility she was driving under the influence.
A representative for the actress said Heche “has a significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that require surgical intervention."
"She is in a coma and has not regained consciousness since shortly after the accident,” added the spokesperson.
While it's easy to condemn the culprit, there were a few people who expressed empathy in the situation.
\u201c@PalmerLynch7 She's a human being in a coma because she has 3rd degree burns. I had one. I still have nerve damage from it. It's no joke. Yes, ultimately she should and will be held responsible but right now she's not even conscious & people are attacking her, even on #LynneMishele's GoFundMe.\u201d— Palmer Lynch (@Palmer Lynch) 1659750197
\u201c@Fe_CLAD I like Anne Heche too but she really needs to be the one helping out. Her team should get on this and be the biggest donors asap. That would be a great first step and probably help her emotionally in her recovery.\u201d— DR. IRONCLAD, Brunch Democrat (@DR. IRONCLAD, Brunch Democrat) 1659876196
\u201c@CNN This is very sad collateral damage on both sides.\u203c\ufe0f\ud83e\udd14\u201d— CNN (@CNN) 1659981610
But a majority of social media users were more sympathetic towards Mishele, who "lost her entire lifetime of possessions, mementos, all equipment for her business including her laptop and iPad, all of her clothing and basic necessities, and all household items...everything is gone."
\u201cWhile your thoughts are going to Anne Heche, there's a woman without a place to live.\nhttps://t.co/r8fghQ2EZG\u201d— Brown Eyed Susan\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Brown Eyed Susan\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1660061516
\u201c@StaceyW01676277 @DEADLINE #DEADLINE: We can feel bad for #AnneHeche but also acknowledge she crashed into someone's home. She ruined the homeowner's life too & could have killed her.\n\nThe responsible thing @DEADLINE could do here is include the homeowner's GoFundMe in the article: https://t.co/Be26nVNlPY\u201d— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline Hollywood) 1659993797
\u201c@CNN We salute the fire fighters for stopping that fire and\ud83d\ude4ffor the woman who lost her home and for her family. Hope the person responsible is held accountable regardless of her paycheck and notoriety.\u201d— CNN (@CNN) 1659981610
\u201cI get celebrities sending their condolences to #AnneHeche... but what about sending condolences to the woman who lost her home and was almost killed by Anne's recklessness? \n\nMaybe they could also share her GoFundMe: https://t.co/5OAC8EXNYz\u201d— Faran Balanced (@Faran Balanced) 1659908154
\u201cI wish #AnneHeche well, but all the celebrities who are talking about her should be boosting help for the woman, who lost EVERYTHING, but her life & pets (thank goodness) inside her own home. Her name is #LynneMishele.\u201d— Cyndi B (@Cyndi B) 1659879228
The GoFundMe campaign set up by two of Mishele's neighbors raised over $50,000 in just one day after its launch.
The $100,000 goal has now been exceeded, with over $111,000 raised as of this writing.
\u201cNeighbors helping a neighbor. I contributed to a GoFundMe effort to help out Lynne Mishele whose house was trashed by Anne Heche. She lost everything. Kick in a few bucks for a good cause. (Included my photo of the crime scene here). Thanks! https://t.co/yHTIdGEHzV\u201d— David Hume Kennerly (@David Hume Kennerly) 1659933767
Jennifer Durand, who is the fund organizer, wrote:
“Lynne lives with her beautiful pups Bree and Rueban, and tortoise Marley in the Mar Vista home that was destroyed this week by a car driving into the home at a high rate of speed, catching the house on fire."
“Lynne and her family very narrowly escaped physical harm, and for that we are very, very grateful," she said.
Durand also noted the fundraiser was being operated by a man named John along with many others living in the neighborhood.
"A kind and generous person, Lynne is always first to offer help to others," added Durand. "Today we are asking the community to come together and help Lynne start over."
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