Woman Whose Home Was Destroyed After Anne Heche's Car Crash Thanks Supporters amid 'Insane, Traumatic Time'
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The woman whose rental home was destroyed as a result of Anne Heche's recent car wreck is speaking out.
Nearly a week after the Emmy Award winner, 53, crashed her car into the Los Angeles residence on Friday, causing it to catch fire, the house's tenant Lynne Mishele addressed the incident in a video on Instagram.
"I'm still recovering and trying to figure out up from down but I did want to send a huge, huge thank you to everybody from all over the world, for the overwhelming amount of love and compassion and generosity and kindness that people have shown over the past week," she said in the clip, which was posted to her Creative Organization business account on Thursday.
"It's obviously been the most insane, traumatic time, confusing ... eventually [I'll] try to get back to everybody and try to read everybody's comments," she continued. "Thank you everybody from the bottom of my heart. It's really truly overwhelming. You guys really have impacted my life in a really profound way so thank you so much and I will keep you updated."
In a final note, Mishele panned the camera to show her two dogs, Bree and Rueban, who escaped the crash unharmed.
"They wanna say thank you so much for cheering them on," she said, before addressing her other pet, who she said is staying with a friend. "My tortoise Marley says 'hi' from the valley."
Mishele was on the property of her Mar Vista home — owned by Jennifer Durand — when Heche crashed her car into the residence on Friday.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Mishele's lawyer said of the incident: "Ms. Mishele is devastated by what happened to her on Friday — not only because she and her pets almost lost their lives, but because all of her property, including items of profound sentimental value, were destroyed. She asks for privacy at this incredibly difficult time."
Mishele's neighbor Lynne Bernstein previously told PEOPLE that Mishele and her pets were "extremely fortunate" to survive the accident with no injuries.
According to Bernstein, Heche's vehicle drove "almost all the way through" the house and "almost immediately" caught fire. The Los Angeles Fire Department told PEOPLE that the accident caused "structural compromise" and "heavy fire" to the one-story home.
Bernstein added that Mishele "was in shock" before she even noticed the vehicle, as she saw him and two other neighbors inside her house trying to help everyone get out safely. "I don't think she got what was going on. She said, 'What happened? What happened?' " he recalled.
Durand also told PEOPLE she initially learned about the incident through Mishele.
"Lynne called me and asked me if I was sitting down, and then told me a car had crashed through the home and it was on fire," recalled Durand, who owned the house for 24 years. "She could barely speak so it took a few minutes to really understand what was happening."
"When I arrived, we hugged and cried a lot. In that moment, I was just so relieved and grateful that she and her animals had survived this," Durand continued. "Nothing could have prepared me for what the house looked like."
Gofundme Lynne Mishele
RELATED: Anne Heche Is in a Coma and 'Has Not Regained Consciousness' Since L.A. Car Crash: Rep
In the wake of the crash, Durand and her husband John set up a GoFundMe page to help Mishele cover the loss of "the place she loves" and most of her belongings.
"Lynne and her family very narrowly escaped physical harm, and for that we are very, very grateful," the Durands wrote on the campaign, noting that the Los Angeles Fire Department "immediately red-tagged" the house and Mishele lost an "entire lifetime of possessions, mementos, all equipment for her business including her laptop and iPad, all of her clothing and basic necessities, and all household items."
"With firefighters' help, she was able to pull a few damaged sentimental belongings from the wreckage. Everything else is gone," they added.
The Durands urged supporters to donate to the campaign as well as support her business, Creative Organization, on Instagram and TikTok. So far, the GoFundMe page has raised more than $133,000.
