‘Home & Away’ Star Jessica Falkholt Taken Off Life Support One Day After Family’s Funeral

Home and Away star Jessica Falkholt and her family were involved in a terrible car accident on Dec. 26.

JESSICA FALKHOLT TAKEN OFF LIFE SUPPORT

Falkholt has been in a coma since the accident, and had her life support pulled on Jan. 11, just one day after her mother and father were laid to rest. The actress, 29, her parents Vivian, 60, and Lars, 69, and her younger sister Annabelle, 21, were driving home from a Christmas vacation when another car crashed into theirs. Vivian and Lars were killed on impact, as was the driver of the other car – 50-year-old Craig Whitehall.

Whitehall was a serial traffic offender, and had more than 60 convictions under his belt. He was driving home from a methadone clinic when he struck the family of four. Whitehall had previously received a nine-year driving ban and racked up at least 10 convictions for driving while disqualified.

Both Jessica and Annabelle were pulled from the burning wreckage and taken to hospitals. Annabelle died three days later, while Jessica remained in a coma at St. George hospital. Multiple surgeries were performed to save her life, including removing a kidney and part of her skull. Ultimately, Jessica remained in the coma until her life support was removed. The decision to end life support came the day after the funeral for her parents and sister.

Falkholt played Hope Morrison on the popular soap opera Home and Away, and the show paid tribute to her on Twitter with a simple message: “Rest in peace, beautiful Jessica Falkholt.”

The network behind the soap, Australia’s Network Seven, also released a short statement: “Although her time on set was brief, once a part of the Home and Away family, always part of the family.” Falkholt stint on the long-running program lasted 16 episodes and ended in Nov. 2016. She later filmed a role in the American film Harmony, which is set for release this year.