Coroner rules Hayden Panettiere's death an accidental overdose

Actress Hayden Panettiere was found unresponsive in a Greenville, South Carolina apartment on Aug. 16 and was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m. after emergency responders were unable to revive her. The Greenville County Coroner’s Office, in conjunction with city police, completed an autopsy that found no traumatic injuries and identified the cause of death as toxic effects of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, alprazolam, methocarbamol and quetiapine. The manner of death was ruled an accident.

The 911 call, placed by a man identified as Brian Hickerson, was received at 1:51 p.m. and prompted a rapid response from EMS and fire personnel, who performed advanced cardiac life support before declaring death. Police officers on scene spoke with two men present in the unit; one, Zach Hickerson, identified the deceased as his brother’s girlfriend, while the other, Brian Hickerson, later provided a bag of medication reportedly belonging to Panettiere. Portions of the incident report and details about the medication list remain redacted.

Panettiere, 36, had been staying temporarily in the residence and had entered a rehabilitation program weeks before the incident.