Neighbours raising money for woman whose home was burned in Anne Heche crash

Anne Heche, who received a Daytime Emmy in 1991 for the soap opera 'Another World', is in a coma after crashing her blue Mini Cooper into the house. Photo: Reuters

A Southern California community is rallying around the woman whose home caught fire after being struck by actress Anne Heche’s car last week.

Neighbours have raised more than US$50,000 to support Lynne Mishele after her Mar Vista home was destroyed in the crash that left Heche hospitalised.

The online fundraiser set up by two neighbours over the weekend has received more than US$57,000 a day after it launched.

“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,” reads the GoFundMe page organized by Jennifer Durand.

“Lynne and her family very narrowly escaped physical harm, and for that we are very, very grateful.”

Durant says the fundraiser is also being operated by a man named John, with “many” of their neighbours sharing support as well.

Another neighbour, Lynne Bernstein, told People that Mishele is “extremely fortunate” to be alive. Mishele and her pets made it outside of the home without any reported injuries.

The 53-year-old Heche, who received a Daytime Emmy in 1991 for the soap opera Another World, is in a coma after crashing her blue Mini Cooper into the house.

Heche’s car went “almost all the way through” the home, which caught fire nearly immediately, witnesses said. The incident occurred before 11am local time, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service