NEWS'Overdose': 911 Dispatch Audio Reveals Hayden Panettiere Was Found Dead at South Carolina Loft After Drug Induced 'Cardiac Arrest'
Hayden Panettiere was found dead at age 36 in her South Carolina home after a reported 'overdose.'
Aug. 17 2026, Updated 9:16 a.m. ET
Hayden Panettiere was found dead at age 36 by a friend after an "overdose" in her South Carolina home, 911 dispatch audio revealed.
The late Heroes star was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m. on Sunday, August 16 — less than one hour after her friend called 911 and reported an “unidentified female" in "cardiac arrest."
According to Page Six, "CPR [was] in progress" within minutes. Despite emergency responders' attempts to resuscitate Panettiere at her apartment complex with "advanced cardiac life support" and chest compressions, Panettiere could not be saved.
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Law enforcement sources told TMZ there are no signs of foul play at this time and that the circumstances surrounding her death did not appear suspicious.
It's unclear who placed the 911 call, though Page Six named Panettiere's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, as the possible pal, as he flew from Los Angeles to South Carolina with the actress on Saturday, August 15.
Panettiere and Hickerson were first linked in 2018, however, she recently admitted to him "abusing her" while promoting her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, which released back in May.
Panettiere's cause of death remains unknown, though TMZ reported the Greenville County coroner will perform an autopsy on Monday, August 17.
More to come...
