On August 5, 2022, Heche was involved in a sequence of two car crashes in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, first when the Mini Cooper she was driving hit a garage at an apartment complex, and second when she crashed into a house, resulting in a fire that left her severely burned.[101][102][103] A video recorded in the moments before the final crash shows Heche's vehicle navigating a neighborhood street at a very high speed, followed a few seconds later by the sound of a crash.[104][105] The vehicle collision and resulting house fire required 59 firefighters to handle, who took 65 minutes to fully extinguish the fire and rescue Heche from the vehicle. The house was left structurally compromised and uninhabitable.[106] The tenant of the house sustained minor injuries, but suffered extensive property loss.[107][108]

Law enforcement officials said that Heche was "deemed to be under the influence and acting erratically" at the time of the crashes.[102] The Los Angeles Police Department said that a preliminary blood analysis confirmed the presence of narcotics in Heche's system, although more comprehensive toxicology tests that could take weeks are required to identify specific drugs.[109][110]