What is anoxic brain injury? Anne Heche not expected to survive car crash

American actress Anne Heche is not expected to survive the deadly car accident she was involved in last week, as per her family and friends.

In an official statement given to Deadline by a representative of the 53-year-old star's friends and family, close ones thanked the well-wishers of Anne Heche as well as the staff and nurses of the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills hospital for taking care of her.

They further revealed that the actress was declared brain dead, and her close ones have decided to take her off life support.

“Unfortunately, due to her accident, Anne Heche suffered a severe anoxic brain injury and remains in a coma, in critical condition. She is not expected to survive.”

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What is anoxic brain injury and what else did Anne Heche's family say about her condition?

As per Shepherd Center, anoxic brain injury occurs when there is a total loss of oxygen to the brain, which causes brain cells to die after around four minutes of oxygen scarcity.

According to Anne Heche's family, the actress is on ventilator support until it is assessed whether the unharmed organs can be donated or not.

“It has long been her choice to donate her organs and she is being kept on life support to determine if any are viable."

Further, the family stated that Heche had a "huge heart" and believed in "spreading kindness and joy as her life’s work."

"She will be remembered for her courageous honesty and dearly missed for her light.”

On August 5, Anne Heche crashed her blue mini Cooper into a house in Los Angeles' Mar Vista after which her car went up in flames. The incident took 59 firefighters more than an hour to control the fire before the actress could be removed from her vehicle. Shortly after, she slipped into a coma and has been in a comatose state ever since.

A few days later, Heche was described to be in an "extremely critical condition," after suffering a "significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that require surgical intervention.”

Investigators in the case stated that the initial blood tests confirmed traces of drugs in her body. After getting an official warrant to undergo tests, the Los Angeles Police Department discovered that Heche was intoxicated with cocaine at the time of the accident.

Anne began her acting career in 1991 when she appeared in the television series Murphy Brown as Veronica. She then went on to bag a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991 for Another World in the Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series category.

Some of her other credits include An Ambush of Ghosts, I'll Do Anything, Milk Money, Pie in the Sky, Donnie Brasco, Six Days Seven Nights, Psycho, Ally McBeal, Everwood, Higglytown Heroes, Men in Trees, Hung, Blackout, The Michael J. Fox Show, The Legend of Korra, etc.