Anne Heche: What We Can Learn From Her

Anne Heche was a 53 year old Emmy winning American actress. Generations of American families have witnessed her smile grace their televison screens through the soap opera “Another World”, shows such as “Gracie’s Choice”and “Twentish Century”, and movies “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and “Wag the Dog”.

When she went behind the wheel on August 5th of this year, Heche’s car crashed into a two-story house in the Mar Cista neighborhood of Los Angeles. Ultimately, the car and home erupted into great flames. Neighbors and residents of the home escaped the fire unharmed, yet, whether or not Anne Heche would survive remained a mystery. Almost 60 firefighters were called to extinguish the flames and salvage the damage, but Heche was found in critical condition- suffering from severe burns and crash injuries to her brain. Her condition worsened and doctors diagnosed her with a critical anoxic brain injury. On August 8th of 2022, she slipped into a coma. During her period of hospitalization, detectives examined the blood draw and concluded Heche had narcotics- “…mind altering substances…that relieve pain and dull the senses…”  – in her system during the crash.

Heche’s family- including her two children, kept Heche on life-support until later that week, the family came to a collective decision to remove her from life support. They wept as Heche took her final breath.

The world lost a radiant actress and two sons lost a mother. Yet, many drivers- young and old- have earned a lesson.

For starters, this recent event stresses the importance of driver education where people aren’t just learning the basics of road safety- but are building driving habits that will follow them every time they’re on the road. Heche drove under the influence of drugs- something in 2018, 12.6 million people have been convicted for, regardless of how dangerous it can be. Driver education can educate new drivers on the dangers of driving under the influence. Once drivers understand the impact of drugged driving from the start, early on, drivers won’t build the habit of driving with drugs in their system. One less driver under the influence can mean many lives saved.

Moreover, to reduce the number of motor vehicle deaths, I believe it’s crucial we eliminate the number of people driving under the influence of drugs. Mentally, narcotics impair your decision making, thus leading drivers to make irrational driving decisions and make focusing harder. Physically, narcotics can temporarily worsen one’s hearing and vision. If you can’t see the civilian crossing the road or hear a car’s urgent honk- evidently, you’re endangering you and the people around you. To solve this, education must come to play. Driver instructors and manuals must do their part to ensure new drivers understand the importance of having a clear system when driving. Also, advertisements whether on a bus or in the middle of a YouTube video can share the dangers of drugged driving in a quick, engaging manner. To reach young people, schools must start implementing anti-drugged driving information into curriculum. These steps are uncostly, small, yet are effective enough to ensure there will never be a case like Heche’s again.

I have gratefully not experienced being in a car accident and through safe driving, I intend to keep it that way. Even if I’m young, I pledge to enjoy the privileges of being able to drive with the window down, wind in my hair while protecting the lives around me.

I turned 16 years old not too long ago and where I live, 16 years old is the minimum age to legally get your driver’s permit. Unfortunately, driving under the influence is often projected in a fun manner. Teenage characters in movies drive under the influence of narcotics with upbeat music in the background accompanied with humorous dialogue. I will make sure I don’t fall into this trap. If a horrific death can come upon someone as rich and decorated as Heche- it can surely happen to the typical youth.

Overall, Anne Heche won’t die in vain as long as we remember her tragedy. We mustn’t forget that we as drivers have the power to protect our loved ones in the backseat, families in nearby cars, and ourselves from becoming the next Anne Heche.

It’s also important to note that there are resources available for those struggling with substance abuse or have an unhealthy habit of using drugs while driving.