Who is Lynne Mishele? Woman's home DESTROYED in fire after Anne Heche crashed her car into it
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Emmy-winning actress Anne Heche, 53, crashed her car into a Los Angeles home on Friday, August 5, 2022, while the owner was in the backyard. A vehicle ran off the road and collided with a home in the 1700 block of Walgrove Avenue in Mar Vista, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. "The vehicle became engulfed in flames," the LAPD reported.
The Los Angeles Fire Department transported Heche to a nearby hospital for treatment and said that it took 59 firefighters and 65 minutes to extinguish the fire. According to the LAFD, the car drove at least 30 feet into the house. The homeowner was identified as Lynne Mishele. Mishele's home was totally destroyed in the crash as it caught fire. Mishele's neighbors Jenny and John Durand launched a GoFundMe fundraiser for Mishele to start her life again after the tragic loss. The fundraiser raised over $40,000 in just one day and over $50,400 until now, with a goal being $100,000.
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"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," the Durands wrote on their campaign. "Lynne and her family very narrowly escaped physical harm, and for that, we are very, very grateful." The fundraisers also provided pictures and videos of the destroyed home.
Mishele's neighbor, Lynne Bernstein, told PEOPLE the tenant "was extremely fortunate" to survive the accident with no injuries. Mishele's dogs and turtle were also saved. Fortunately, Mishele was in another part of her house at the time of the accident. She was "in shock" before she realized what had happened and noticed neighbors attempting to ensure her and anyone else in the house was safe.
"I don't think she got what was going on," Bernstein recalled. "She said, 'What happened? What happened?" Berinstein said Heche's car drove "almost all the way through" Mishele's home, which "almost immediately" caught fire. The Los Angeles Fire Department "red-tagged" the house, leaving Mishele without most of her belongings.
The Durands stated that she "lost all of her business equipment, including her laptop and iPad, all of her clothing and basic necessities, and all household items."
Firefighters assisted her in recovering some of her belongings, but everything else was "lost," they wrote. They also asked fans to contribute to Mishele's home organization company Creative Organization. "A kind and generous person, Lynne is always first to offer help to others. Today we are asking the community to come together and help Lynne start over," Durands stated on the GoFundMe page.
After suffering burns, Heche has since been hospitalized and intubated, and her rep told PEOPLE on Saturday, August 6, 2022, that she is "currently in stable condition."