New information about actress Anne Heche’s death has been revealed.
According to an autopsy report acquired by People from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, Heche was not impaired by substances during her car crash on Aug. 5, but it did show she had used them previously.
A spokesperson for the coroner’s office told People exclusively, “The hospital admission blood showed the presence of benzoylecgonine, the inactive metabolite of cocaine, which means she used in the past but not at the time of the crash.”
Cannabinoids were also detected in her urine, which she used prior to the crash, but not at the time of the crash, per People.
The toxicology report showed that she had fentanyl in her system, but according to the coroner’s report, it was “obtained after she received treatment at the hospital and therefore is consistent with therapeutic use.”
“This is supported by the lack of fentanyl in the blood specimen drawn at admission to the hospital,” the report stated.
The report also revealed that Heche was badly burned, which led to “Anoxic Brain Injury.”
Anoxic Brain injury is when the brain is not receiving enough oxygen, and what ultimately killed Heche.
On Aug. 5, Heche’s car crashed into a home in a Los Angeles neighborhood.
After remaining in a coma for several days, a rep for Heche’s family told People that the actress was “not expected to survive.”
“Unfortunately, due to her accident, Anne suffered a severe anoxic brain injury and remains in a coma, in critical condition. She is not expected to survive,” the rep explained.
The rep also revealed that Heche was an organ donor.
“It has long been her choice to donate her organs and she’s being kept on life support to determine if any are viable,” the rep said.
On Aug. 11, Heche died after she was taken off of life support and declared brain dead. In California, brain death is considered to be legally dead, per New York Daily News.
Heche was 53 years old.
