Zach Hickerson made a frantic 911 call after finding Hayden Panettiere unresponsive in a South Carolina Airbnb.
The brother of the actress’s boyfriend, Bryan Hickerson, had returned from church on Aug. 16 when he discovered the 35-year-old “Heroes” star and immediately phoned for emergency help. The call, captured Zach’s panic as he confronted the life-or-death situation alone.
“Oh god, oh my god,” Zach said when the dispatcher answered. The dispatcher quickly asked whether Panettiere was breathing, and Zach’s response was grim: “No, I don’t think so.”
The emergency operator then directed Zach to search for a defibrillator in the rental property. He was unable to find one. After confirming that the actress was not breathing, the dispatcher moved to the next critical step.
“OK, we need to start CPR,” the dispatcher told Zach. “I’m going to tell you how to do CPR, OK? We’re gonna start with ventilation first.”
Zach followed the dispatcher’s instructions and began performing CPR on Panettiere. He continued the life-saving measures until first responders arrived at the scene and took over the attempt to revive her.
The actress was pronounced dead that day. She was found in the Airbnb she had been sharing with Bryan Hickerson, her boyfriend of several years.
The 911 audio surfaced as investigators examined the circumstances surrounding Panettiere’s sudden death. Law enforcement sources indicated that a “bag of medication” was present at the scene, and the initial dispatch call referenced both “cardiac arrest” and “overdose” as possible factors.
Bryan Hickerson’s reaction to the emergency drew additional scrutiny from authorities. Details of his response were flagged as unusual in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
Panettiere had been open about her past struggles with substance use and mental health, discussing her experiences in interviews over the years. She rose to fame as a child actor before landing her breakout role as cheerleader Claire Bennet on NBC’s “Heroes,” which ran from 2006 to 2010. She later voiced Kairi in the “Kingdom Hearts” video game series and appeared in numerous film and television projects.
Her death came more than a year after she had begun rebuilding her career and personal life following a period of public challenges. She shared one daughter, Kaya, with her former partner, former professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate the circumstances of Panettiere’s death. An official cause has not yet been publicly released pending completion of the autopsy and toxicology reports.