911 recording reveals emergency response after Hayden Panettiere found unresponsive in South Carolina
A newly released 911 call shows first responders guiding a caller through CPR before EMS arrived at the Greenville apartment where actress Hayden Panettiere was later pronounced dead.
A Freedom of Information Act request obtained a seven-minute 911 audio recording of the emergency call made after Hayden Panettiere was found unresponsive in a Greenville, South Carolina, apartment on Aug. 16. The caller, identified as the brother of Panettiere’s former boyfriend, reported that he entered the residence after church and discovered the actress unconscious.
"[I] walked in after church to my brother and his girlfriend's apartment, and he woke up, and his girl ... she's unconscious," the caller said.
The 911 operator instructed the caller to begin CPR, directing him to lay the victim flat, remove objects from under her head, and start ventilation and chest compressions. The operator counted the compressions aloud, indicating a target of 500 compressions or until help arrived.
"We need to start CPR. I'm going to tell you how to do CPR, OK? We're going to start with ventilation first. I need you to lay her flat on her back and remove anything from under her head," the operator said.
"We're going to do this 500 times or until help can arrive, OK? Start counting now -- one, two, three, four; one, two, three, four; ...",
Greenville County EMS arrived and initiated advanced cardiac life support measures. Panettiere was pronounced dead at approximately 2:32 p.m. on Aug. 16. The Greenville County Coroner’s Office later ruled the death an accidental overdose involving fentanyl and other substances. The Greenville City Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration are investigating the case. Police reports note that Panettiere’s ex-boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother, Zach Hickerson, were present at the scene and were spoken to by officers while EMS worked on the patient.