Anne Heche’s Cause of Death Released Along With Harrowing 911 Call
The actress died from smoke inhalation and thermal injuries, the Los Angeles medical examiner-coroner ruled.

Amanda Edwards/Getty
Anne Heche’s death was ruled an accident by the Los Angeles County medical examiner-coroner on Wednesday, just days after she was taken off life support. The 53-year-old actress died of smoke inhalation and thermal injuries, suffering a sternal fracture due to blunt trauma after crashing her blue Mini Cooper into a Mar Vista home on Aug. 5, sending both up in flames. The actress remained comatose in critical condition for nearly a week before being declared legally dead on Aug. 11. Also on Wednesday, audio of a frantic 911 call placed by neighbors who watched Heche’s crash was obtained by CNN. “Somebody is opening the back to see if we can access,” the person can be heard saying, “because they’re kinda trapped... inside the car.” Another voice in the background calls out: “Fire!” A third person asks for hoses, according to CNN. It took nearly 60 firefighters over an hour to extinguish the blaze, according to authorities.
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