Lynne Mishele: Woman whose house Anne Heche crashed into seeks $2M in damages from late actress' estate
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The woman whose home caught fire in Anne Heche's deadly vehicle accident is suing the actress' estate. Heche's Mini Cooper allegedly crashed into Lynne Mishele's Los Angeles home on August 5, and she and her dogs almost perished as a result, according to the lawsuit.
Heche's car allegedly "barreled through the front of her house and deep into its interior" before coming “to a halt just feet away” from Mishele, her two dogs, Bree and Rueben, as well as her tortoise, Marley.
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As per reported by Page Six, Mishele claims the “sudden and terrifying blast shook her to her core,” adding that she was left “completely traumatized, unusually startled by hearing loud noises, plagued by nightmares and flashbacks of the incident, terrified of walking outside, and, atop that, without a place to live.” Furthermore, she claims that she had “an entire life’s worth of her personal possessions destroyed in the fire.” Mishele also brought up the fact that fentanyl and cocaine were found in Heche's system at the time of the tragedy. She demands compensation of at least $2 million.
Heche "became unconscious, slipping into a coma" shortly after she crashed into Mishele's house; her oldest son, 20-year-old Homer Laffoon, is currently the special administrator of her estate. For 45 minutes, the actress was "stuck inside the vehicle" as the nearby fire raged. She never gained consciousness again.
Heche was kept alive until August 12 so that some of her organs could be removed for donation. Her official causes of death were heat burns and smoke inhalation. Her death, which was determined to be accidental, also had a sternal fracture brought on by blunt trauma, according to the LA County medical examiner-coroner.
MEAWW previously reported, Homer, the late Anne Heche's son, has been appointed as special administrator of his mother's estate. This comes as Homer and Heche's ex-husband James Tupper battle for control of her inheritance and care of Heche's 13-year-old son Atlas, whom she shares with Tupper. The actress, 53, died without leaving a will.
Homer is now authorized to "take possession of all personal property of the decedent's estate and preserve it from damage, waste, and injury," according to the filings. He must inventory the property and transport it into a storage facility within five days of the relocation. He was also given the authority to protect Heche's rights in her next book's "publication agreement." Homer has access to Heche's financial information and can submit her own tax returns. According to the document, Homer can now "commence, maintain, or defend" lawsuits and other legal actions.