The woman whose home was completely destroyed after actor Anne Heche crashed her car into it, sparking a massive fire that almost killed her has been identified. Neighbors identified the woman as Lynne Mishele, who was "extremely fortunate" to escape the fire unscathed with her two dogs.
However, Mishele said that she lost an "entire lifetime of possessions" in the near-fatal crash. Her home was burnt to ashes but she finds herself lucky to have survived. However, the neighbors of the westside Los Angeles are standing by Mishele's side and have started a GoFundMe page for her.
Almost Killed
Mishle has been able to earn more than $50,000 in just one day from the GoFundMe page but not before losing everything in the deadly crash that left Heche with severe burns on Friday. The GoFundMe page describes Mishele, as a "kind and generous person," who "very nearly escaped physical harm" as a result of the horrific crash.
According to the GoFundMe page, Mishele's home was "completely burned" in the crash and was "red-tagged" by authorities because they deemed it unfit and dangerous for use. However, she is now rebuilding her life after losing her lifetime's worth of possessions.
According to Mishele's neighbor Lynne Bernstein, she was in shock and had no idea what had happened. She hadn't been aware that a car was inside her home until she saw Bernstein and other neighbors scurrying to help crash survivors, he claimed.
"I don't think she got what was going on. She said, 'What happened? What happened?'" he recalled.
According to Bernstein, Mishele, her two dogs, and a pet turtle were fortunate to have avoided injuries because the car was "almost all the way through."
John and Jennifer Durand, the owners of the one-story house that was destroyed, have also started a GoFundMe to assist her in recovering from the financial and emotional loss.
"Lynne lives with her beautiful pups Bree and Rueban, and tortoise Marley in the Mar Vista home that was destroyed this week," it said. "Lynne and her family very narrowly escaped physical harm, and for that we are very, very grateful."
Lucky Escape
Heche allegedly crashed her Mini Cooper into Mishele's house at a speed of about 90 mph, sparking a massive fire. It took 59 firefighters more than an hour to put out the ensuing fire. Heche, who is best known for her friendship with Ellen DeGeneres and her acting roles in the 1990s, was transported to a nearby hospital as a result of the fire and intubated.
She is still in the ICU, but doctors believe she will make it. Mishele made it out unscathed but shaken.
According to a neighbor, David Manpearl, who spoke to the Daily Mail, Mishel initially believed that something had fallen from the sky and detonated inside her home. "She's lucky to be alive. She was shaking when she told me she had just been in the living room right where the car had crashed," he said.
Heche was captured on camera moments before she crashed into the nearly 70-year-old house, further along, the same street in a separate garage.
Heche's blue Mini Clubman was captured on a doorbell video speeding past a house along South Walgrove Avenue in the Mar Vista neighborhood at about 90 miles per hour just before wrecking Mishele's home.
