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Anne Heche likely won't spend "any significant time" in jail after she crashed her car into a home in Los Angeles on Friday.
Heche, 53, will most likely be charged with hit-and-run along with reckless driving, a legal expert told Fox News Digital. Former U.S. Attorney Neama Rahmani explained the actress would only receive misdemeanor charges since she didn't cause any bodily injuries to anyone involved in the crashes.
The actress crashed her Mini Cooper twice on Friday, with the second crash igniting a fire that left a home destroyed in the Mar Vista neighborhood. Heche suffered burn injuries, but was "conscious and breathing" when paramedics removed her from the vehicle.
Heche could receive up to six months in jail for the hit-and-run charge alone, with up to 90 days for the reckless driving charge, Rahmani told Fox News Digital.
Anne Heche will likely only receive misdemeanor charges after crashing her car into a home Friday, an expert said. (YouTube/Getty Images)
Attorney Arie Shamuilian of My Rights Law Group told Fox News Digital it's likely that Heche will spend time in jail for the crash.
"In this case, there's other video depicting her vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed and crashing into the building," Shamuilian explained. "I anticipate there could potentially be custody time with this case, given the circumstantial evidence shows her level of recklessness was pretty high here."
If a toxicology report were to confirm Heche had been driving under the influence, she could be charged with a misdemeanor DUI. For that charge, Rahmani explained, the actress could be punished with up to six months in jail.
A public information officer for LAPD confirmed to Fox News Digital that authorities obtained a warrant for a sample of Heche's blood on Aug. 5. The results of the blood test are pending and the investigation ongoing. If Heche is found to have been intoxicated during the crash, she will be charged with a DUI hit-and-run, LAPD told Fox News Digital.
The case will then be presented to the Los Angeles city attorney's office.
Shamuilian, who works as a criminal defense attorney, explained why police might not have been able to get a blood or breath sample at the time of the crash.
"It's my understanding that she was injured in this collision," Shamuilian told Fox News Digital. "And in the state of California, if someone does not provide consent to submit to a blood or breath sample, the police need to obtain a warrant to get those blood or breath samples. Otherwise, it would be an unreasonable search or seizure."
Shamuilian said Heche is "lucky" her charges are at the misdemeanor level.
"Given the level of her recklessness, and driving and her speed, she's extremely lucky that it's at the misdemeanor level," Shamuilian told Fox News Digital. "And this is a case that shows the importance of why not to drink and drive."
Most of Heche's legal punishment will be in the form of criminal restitution, according to Rahmani. The "Donnie Brasco" actress will likely be fined and held responsible for the property damage costs associated with both crashes.
On top of the criminal court fines, Heche could be sued in civil court.
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Heche sustained burn injuries in the crash, but was "conscious and breathing" when she was removed from the vehicle following the crash. (FOX 11)
The owner of the house Heche crashed into was home at the time and "very narrowly escaped physical harm" after the fire began. Lynne Mishele's neighbors created a GoFundMe campaign that raised $45,000 in one day.
Mishele "lost her entire lifetime of possessions" in the fire that took 59 firefighters and 65 minutes to access, confine and fully extinguish, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
"Lynne lives with her beautiful pups Bree and Rueban, and tortoise Marley in the Mar Vista home that was destroyed this week by a car driving into the home at a high rate of speed, catching the house on fire," the campaign said.
"Even more distressing is that Lynne lost her 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."
Heche is now in "stable condition" as she recovers from the fiery crash. (Amy Sussman)
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Heche is currently in "stable condition" as she recovers from the crash.
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