Orange is the New Black actress Michelle Hurst was seriously injured in a car crash last month, and now her fellow cast members are asking for your help.
A fundraising website set up by cast members says that Hurst – who plays Miss Claudette on the Netflix dramedy – had to be placed into a medically-induced coma so doctors could operate close to her spine. The car accident took place before the holidays, and she woke up today.
After leaving the 16-day coma, she “has opened her eyes!” the fundraising site says. “We can’t send flowers yet because she is in ICU at UNC Chapel Hill Hospital. So we have set up a fundraising page.”
The cast says that the money raised – currently over $8,000 at the time of this writing – will go to Hurst’s sister to “pay for her medical expenses & time off of work.”
News of Hurst’s accident first came to light when Orange is the New Black author Piper Kerman tweeted the fundraising link this morning:
Michelle Hurst, aka "Miss Claudette", was injured in a very bad car accident. More info @ fundraising page: http://t.co/MrR5E2awxQ #OITNB
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— Piper Kerman (@Piper) January 16, 2014
It’s not yet known if Hurst had already finished shooting her role for Orange is the New Black season 2, but obviously the priority right now is for the actress to make a full recovery.
Click here to visit the fundraising page to learn how you can help. We wish Hurst all the best as she gets better!
Orange is the New Black season 2 is starting to wrap up filming. This week we know of two supporting actors who finished for the season. A date for the release of the new episodes has not been set yet.
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