A newly released seven-minute 911 call captures the desperate effort to save Hayden Panettiere after she was found unconscious at a South Carolina apartment on Aug. 16. Zach Hickerson, the brother of her on-and-off boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, called for help and tried to revive the 36-year-old actress, as reported [1] by Fox News.
The audio, obtained by ABC News and CBS News, documents Zach’s alarm as the emergency unfolded. “Oh, God, oh, my God — you do like CPR or something?” he asked the dispatcher.
Zach told the operator that he had returned from church and arrived at the Greenville apartment, where he found his brother and Panettiere inside. “He woke up, and his girl … she’s unconscious,” Zach said.
The dispatcher asked whether Panettiere was breathing, then directed Zach to place her flat on her back. Emergency crews were already rushing to the residence as the operator prepared him to begin CPR.
“OK, we need to start CPR,” the dispatcher said. “I’m going to tell you how to do CPR, OK?”
The operator guided Zach through chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation during the seven-minute call. “We’re going to do this 500 times or until help can arrive,” the dispatcher said, according to ABC News.
Zach continued performing CPR until first responders reached the apartment. Brian reportedly administered Narcan, a medication used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, while the brothers attempted to wake Panettiere.
DISTRESSING moment Hayden Panettiere found unresponsive — 911 call released
‘Oh God. Oh my God’
‘We need to start CPR’ https://t.co/M5m9VLR2a4
— RT (@RT_com) October 14, 2026 [3]
Shortly after her death, Zach described the response inside the residence in a statement to TMZ. “When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up, we realized she was unconscious,” he said.
“I immediately called 911, and Brian gave her Narcan. We then jointly performed CPR while 911 was on speaker until fire and EMS arrived.”
The Greenville County Coroner’s Office said the emergency call was received at approximately 1:51 PM on Aug. 16, 2026. The report concerned a cardiac arrest at 701 Easley Bridge Road in Greenville.
First responders and Emergency Medical Services found Panettiere in cardiac arrest and began advanced cardiac life support measures. Those resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at 2:32 PM.
The coroner’s office responded to the residence and opened a parallel investigation with the Greenville City Police Department. Officials identified the deceased as Hayden Leslie Panettiere, 36, of California, and said she had been temporarily staying at the residence.
An autopsy was performed by a board-certified forensic pathologist. According to the coroner’s office, no signs of trauma that would have contributed to Panettiere’s death were found during the examination.
The coroner ruled that Panettiere died from the toxic effects of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, alprazolam, methocarbamol, and quetiapine. Her manner of death was ruled an accident.
Brian traveled with the “Remember the Titans” actress from Los Angeles one day before she was found unresponsive, according to TMZ. The pair briefly ended their relationship in 2022 before rekindling their romance the following year.
Brian’s brother confirmed to police that Brian and Panettiere were in a relationship at the time of her death. Fox News also learned that the Drug Enforcement Administration had been contacted and was assisting with the investigation.
Panettiere achieved her major breakthrough playing Claire Bennett, the seemingly indestructible cheerleader at the center of NBC’s superhero drama “Heroes,” which ran from 2006 to 2010. She also detailed her struggles with postpartum depression in her memoir.