Brian Hickerson’s brother Zach breaks silence on Hayden Panettiere’s tragic final moments

Zach Hickerson, the brother of Hayden Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson, has spoken publicly for the first time following the sudden passing of the 36-year-old Heroes and Nashville star.

Panettiere was found unresponsive on Sunday, August 16, at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina, where emergency responders attempted cardiac life support before declaring her dead at the scene.

Speaking out to address the intense scrutiny surrounding the tragedy, Zach explained why he decided to clarify his involvement and provide context on what unfolded.

“There are a lot of assumptions, speculations and accusations currently swirling,” Zach told TMZ. “The truth will come out as the authorities complete and release additional details from the investigation. And that is important because the people who loved and adored Hayden deserve the truth.”

He continued: “At this time, I want to clarify my involvement in effort to keep the focus on the fact that we lost one of the most precious individuals on this earth and to allow those that cared about her to mourn without additional noise, chaos and misinformation being created and propagated by the media as well as the public.”

Hayden Panettiere died in a South Carolina apartment on Sunday (Munawar Hosain/Fotos International/Getty Images)

Timeline and Desperate Life-Saving Measures

“On Sunday morning, I woke up at my Airbnb, got dressed and went to Church. I exchanged messages that morning with Brian on my way. We planned on us all getting lunch and playing indoor golf after the service,” Zach explained.

“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. When I got there I knew the code to the building but not the door code to the AirBnb.”

He continued, “I knocked loudly which apparently woke Brian up from a nap they were both taking on the pull-out couch bed in the living room. When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, we realized she was unconscious.”

“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.”

According to heavily redacted police incident reports released by the Greenville Police Department, first responders were called to the scene around 1:50 p.m. on Sunday following reports of an unresponsive female.

Responding officer Matthew Bryan noted that he was met at the residence by both Brian and Zach Hickerson.

In his incident narrative, Officer Bryan documented that Zach was "very emotional while EMS were working on Hayden," as paramedics and firefighters performed CPR and emergency cardiac interventions for an extended period before officially pronouncing her deceased at 2:31 p.m.

Reports also noted that Brian produced a bag of medications Panettiere had been taking, which was turned over to authorities as part of the standard protocol.

Hayden and Brian dated on-and-off for several years ( gotpap/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Active Investigation Awaits Toxicology

The Greenville County Coroner's Office confirmed that an autopsy has been completed, revealing no signs of physical trauma or foul play. However, an official cause and manner of death remain pending comprehensive toxicology results, which typically take several weeks.

Federal agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have also joined local detectives to assist in examining the substances found at the location.

Tributes from across the entertainment world have continued to pour in as friends and fans remember Panettiere's exceptional talent, warmth, and resilience throughout her decades on screen.