911 Audio Reveals Brother of Hayden Panettiere’s Boyfriend Made Frantic Attempts to Save Her Life

Adam EnglandThu, October 15, 2026 at 1:35 PM UTC

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Hayden Panettiere at the ‘Blonde’ premiere in Hollywood in 2022Credit: Jon Kopaloff/GettyAn operator can be heard telling Zach Hickerson, the brother of Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson, how to give her CPR in the Aug. 16 audio obtained by ABC News and CBS News -

Audio from a 911 call made by Zach Hickerson has given insight into his attempts to save Hayden Panettiere’s life

The Nashville actress died at age 36 on Aug. 16, after Zach and his brother, her on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson, found her unresponsive at a Greenville, S.C. Airbnb

The operator can be heard instructing Zach how to perform CPR on Panettiere before first responders arrived to take over

Audio from a 911 call made by Zach Hickerson has given insight into his frantic attempts to save Hayden Panettiere after he found her unresponsive in a Greenville, S.C., apartment in August.

The actress, known for her roles in Nashville, Heroes and more, was temporarily staying at the apartment, an Airbnb, when she died at the age of 36 on Aug. 16.

“Oh, God, oh, my God — you do like CPR or something?” Zach, the brother of her on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson, can be heard asking in a recording of the 911 call, obtained by ABC News and CBS News.

He told the operator he’d just arrived at the apartment after returning from church, explaining that Brian was at the residence too. “He woke up, and his girl... she’s unconscious,” Zach said, per the outlets.

Hayden Panettiere in Los Angeles in 2022Credit: Jon Kopaloff/Getty

The operator asked Zach to find a defibrillator, but he was unable to do so. They then asked him if she was breathing, to which he replied, “No, I don’t think so.”

“Okay, we need to start CPR,” the operator told him. “I’m going to tell you how to do CPR, okay? We’re gonna start with ventilation first. I need you to lay her flat on her back and remove anything from under her head.”

Zach began performing the procedure, the operator telling him to “start counting” the number of chest compressions, and he continued until emergency services arrived and took over the process, per the audio obtained by ABC and CBS.

The recording appears to align with an interview Zach gave to TMZ days after Panettiere’s death, in which he said he was “beyond heartbroken” by the “tragic and traumatic” loss.

“When I left church, I called and texted both of them. When I didn’t reach Brian or Hayden, I just assumed maybe they fell back asleep, so I drove over and went to the Airbnb,” he said at the time.

He said he didn’t know the code to the apartment, so he knocked on the door, which seemingly woke Brian up.

“When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, 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. At that point we watched as they tried every measure possible to save her life.”

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Hayden Panettiere in New York City in 2023Credit: ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty

On Aug. 17, a source told PEOPLE that Narcan was found at the scene of Panettiere’s death. The medication is designed to rapidly reverse the effects of a life-threatening opioid emergency. Panettiere had previously been open about her struggles with addiction.

According to the police report, Brian allegedly showed officers a “bag of medication” Panettiere had been taking. The Drug Enforcement Administration joined the investigation and searched Panettiere’s home nine days after her death, sources told PEOPLE. Neither brother has been charged with any crime relating to her death.

Sloan Ellis, an attorney for Hickerson, said in a statement on Aug. 20: “Hayden’s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed. As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play. Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.”

The Greenville County Coroner’s office said in a statement the following month that a 911 call was received at about 1:51 p.m. local time that day.

The office confirmed that emergency services arrived on scene and found Panettiere in cardiac arrest. First responders made attempts to save her life, but the actress was pronounced deceased at 2:32 p.m.

On Sep.22, her cause of death was ruled as the toxic effects of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, alprazolam, methocarbamol and quetiapine. The manner of death was ruled an accident.

Panettiere is survived by her only child, daughter Kaya, whom she welcomed in 2014 with then-fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko. The couple raised her together for the first four years of her life, but in 2018, Panettiere made the “incredibly difficult” decision to give Klitschko full custody.

She discussed the decision during an episode of Jay Shetty’s podcast On Purposethree months before her death, in which she denied claims that she “gave away” her daughter.

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At the time Klitschko received full custody, the actress was seeking treatment for alcoholism, substance abuse and postpartum depression.

“I mean, the idea that anybody would think that I would just give away my child and be okay with it is heartbreaking. Couldn’t be farther from the truth,” Panettiere said. “I think a misconception is that I have been, in the past, forced into treatment when, in fact, I have been the one who has sought it out.”

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”