Ellen DeGeneres breaks silence on former lover Anne Heche's car crash and coma

express.co.uk:

Anne's situation remains unstable after her car lost control last week and crashed through a house, leaving its owner homeless.Her car was also completely destroyed, causing 59 firefighters to battle for 30 minutes to rescue her out of the wreckage.Moments prior to the accident, she had also crashed into an apartment building, causing minor damage before speeding off again.Initial status reports sounded positive, but Anne quickly deteriorated, losing consciousness and slipping into a coma.A rep for the actress has clarified: "At this time Anne is in extreme critical condition."She has a significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that require surgical intervention."Anne made waves in the showbiz industry when she invited Ellen as her date to the premiere of her 1997 movie Volcano and went public about the fact that the pair were dating.The eruption that followed was just as stormy as the film's title might suggest.Anne has since stated that the homophobia that ensued saw her struggling to receive - and keep - acting roles."I was fired from a $10 million picture deal and did not see the light of day in a studio picture," she told Page Six last year.She said she had been expected to take up a particular role, but that as soon as her lesbian relationship entered the public eye, she was informed by the studio that she was out of the running."[After that], I didn't do a studio pic for 10 years," Anne continued.She also spoke of significant mental health issues both before and following her split from Ellen, which culminated in her being hospitalised.The star had been seen wandering in a rural part of California, looking disoriented and confused, after the relationship had broken down.Anne revealed.