Hayden Panettiere’s boyfriend’s brother’s 911 call audio reveals attempts to save her life
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The audio of an emergency services call made by Zach Hickerson after he found Hayden Panettiere unconscious has emerged.
Zach, brother of the 36-year-old star’s on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson, can be heard frantically trying to save the star’s life in the 911 call.
The audio of an emergency services call made by Zach Hickerson after he found Hayden Panettiere unconscious has emerged. Getty
“Oh, God, oh, my God — you do like CPR or something?” Zach can be heard saying in the audio obtained by ABC News and CBS News.
He told the operator he arrived back from church and his brother “woke up, and his girl ... she’s unconscious”.
When asked if Panettiere was breathing, he replied: “No, I don’t think so”.
“Okay, we need to start CPR, I’m going to tell you how to do CPR, okay?” the operator told Zach before walking him through the process step-by-step.
The audio of the emergency call aligns with the story Zach gave immediately following the Nashville star’s death.
“When I left church, I called and texted both of them,” he told TMZ at the time.
“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.”
Zach said his knock on the apartment door was enough to wake up his brother but they couldn’t wake Panettiere.
“When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, we realised she was unconscious” he said.
Panettiere reunion with her ex-partner Brian Hickerson, came soon after a five-year protective order keeping Hickerson from his ex-girlfriend lifted in April. Getty
Police said at the time, Zach was “very emotional” and Brian was very composed until paramedics pronounced the actress dead, after more than 40 minutes of CPR.
Brian is also said to have produced a “bag of medication” Panettiere had been taking around the time of her death for police.
The Heroes star’s death at a short-term rental apartment in South Carolina in August was ruled accidental by a coroner last month but an investigation is still ongoing.
The former child star had a combination of drugs in her system, including fentanyl and its chemical byproduct, the antianxiety medication alprazolam, a muscle relaxer, and a drug used to treat major depression and other serious mental health disorders.
The Heroes star’s death at a short term rental apartment in South Carolina in August, was ruled accidental by a coroner last month but an investigation is still on-going. NBC
“At autopsy no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death,” Greenville County Coroner Mike Ellis said in a statement.
Panettiere recently got back together with Brian Hickerson, who is an aspiring actor from South Carolina.
Their reunion came soon after a five-year protective order keeping him from his ex-girlfriend lifted in April.
He served a short sentence in 2021 for two felony counts of corporal injury/injuring his then-girlfriend Panettiere in May 2019 and January 2020, which she detailed in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.
Panettiere’s estranged mum, Lesley Vogel, slammed Brian Hickerson for coming back into her daughter’s life, labelling him a “toxic individual” and “an enabler”.
“This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death, and that was Brian Hickerson,” she told NBC News in the wake of Panettiere’s passing.
“There is a lot of history in the past that Brian has enabled Hayden many times, and this is why her father and I had been concerned for a long time about him.”
A lawyer for Brian Hickerson issued a statement following Vogel’s interview, reiterating that “police confirmed there were no signs of foul play” in Panettiere’s death.
The pair were first linked in 2018, but went on to have a turbulent on-and-off-again relationship with multiple alleged incidents of domestic violence. Getty
“Hayden’s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed,” attorney Sloan Ellis said at the time.
"Out of respect for Hayden's loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time."
Panettiere had been open about her struggles with mental health over the years.
Most recently following the death of her brother, Jansen Panettiere, in 2023, at 28 from a heart condition, as well as her battle with post-natal depression after the birth of her daughter, Kaya Klitschko, now 11.
If you or someone you know is seeking support and information about suicide prevention, call or visit Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. In the event of an emergency call Triple Zero (000).
