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911 call shows Hayden Panettiere was given CPR on day she died

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Cite

Freiman, J. (2026, October 14). 911 call shows Hayden Panettiere was given CPR on day she died. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hayden-panettiere-911-call-cpr/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

CBS News · collected 2026-10-14 · by Jordan Freiman

Quick Summary

A 911 call reveals that Zach Hickerson attempted CPR on actress Hayden Panettiere after finding her unconscious at her home in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 16. The autopsy later determined that Panettiere's death was accidental due to the toxic effects of multiple drugs including fentanyl and alprazolam. The article focuses on the sequence of events leading to Panettiere's death and highlights her history with substance abuse and her efforts to raise awareness about addiction recovery.
Written by AI on 2026-10-14, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On August 16, 2026, Hayden Panettiere was found unconscious at her home in Greenville, South Carolina, by her boyfriend's brother, Zach Hickerson and his sibling, Brian Hickerson. A 911 call revealed that Zach attempted CPR on the actress before emergency medical services arrived, but she was pronounced dead at the scene despite advanced cardiac life support measures. An autopsy later determined that Panettiere’s death was accidental due to toxic effects from a combination of drugs including fentanyl, 4-ANPP, alprazolam, methocarbamol, and quetiapine. CBS News released the 911 calls detailing these frantic efforts nearly two months after her passing.

Written for “Hayden Panettiere 911 Calls Released” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Hayden Panettiere 911 Calls Released
Entertainment · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 19% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 66/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
19%
3 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
CBS News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-14 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

CBS News · 4259 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jordan Freiman
12 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The Bend Police Department said Monday it expected to finish collecting evidence at the school by the end of the day, and would then turn the building back over to the school district.
🔮 It will be updated.
🔮 This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
🔮 The operator then told Zach Hickerson to begin CPR and gave him instructions on how to perform chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth until emergency medical services could arrive.
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🔮 Vanore said they believe some of the videos involved include "play-acting" while other events "could be real."
Also by Jordan Freiman
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 12 articles by Jordan Freiman →

Topics

CBS News Greenville People South Carolina the Greenville County Coroner's Office

Subjects

Panettiere PERSON · 6× Zach Hickerson PERSON · 5× Brian Hickerson PERSON · 3× CBS News ORG · 1× Greenville GPE · 1× People ORG · 1× South Carolina GPE · 1× Zach PERSON · 1× the Greenville County Coroner's Office ORG · 1×

Narrative

An autopsy found that Panettiere's death was accidental and ruled that the cause was the "toxic effects of" the drugs fentanyl, 4-ANPP, alprazolam, methocarbamol and quetiapine.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-14
🔮 The operator then told Zach Hickerson to begin CPR and gave him instructions on how to perform chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth until emergency medical services could arrive.
2026-10-14 · CBS News
911 call shows Hayden Panettiere was given CPR on day she died · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 3 hedged)

attempted CPR on the actress before she was , a 911 call revealed. asserted
call → attempt → actress
Panettiere, known for her roles as a child actor in "Remember the Titans" and later the TV series "Heroes" and "Nashville," was found unconscious at her Greenville, South Carolina, residence on the afternoon of Aug. 16 by Zach and Brian Hickerson, according to a police report and the 911 call obtained by CBS News. uncertain
Panettiere → know → News
She was pronounced dead at the scene, despite "advanced cardiac life support measures," the Greenville County Coroner's Office said at the time. asserted
Office → pronounce → time
An autopsy found that Panettiere's death was accidental and ruled that the cause was the "toxic effects of" the drugs fentanyl, 4-ANPP, alprazolam, methocarbamol and quetiapine. asserted
cause → find → drugs
Zach Hickerson, who said on the 911 call that he had come over to the couple's home after church, told the 911 operator that Panettiere did not appear to be breathing. asserted
Panettiere → say → operator
The operator asked if they had a defibrillator, but Zach Hickerson said he didn't know if there was one in the apartment building. asserted
he → ask → building
The operator then told Zach Hickerson to begin CPR and gave him instructions on how to perform chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth until emergency medical services could arrive. uncertain
services → tell → mouth
Zach Hickerson also a few days later that Brian Hickerson gave Panettiere , a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses, after they found her unconscious. asserted
her → give → overdoses
Panettiere had spoken openly about her struggles with substance abuse, telling People magazine in 2022 that she became addicted to opioids and alcohol in her teens. asserted
she → speak → teens
In her 2026 memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning," she wrote about her experience with addiction, physical abuse, and recovery. asserted
she → write → addiction
in May that she hoped sharing her story would help others. uncertain
sharing → hop → others
"I really wanted to share with the world that they don't have to be afraid. asserted
they → want → world
That they can live their truth. asserted
they → live → truth
They can be imperfect," she said in the interview. asserted
she → say → interview
Asked how she was doing, she replied, "Still working on myself all the time. asserted
she → ask → myself
I had a great therapist and I'm — I'm better, healthier than I've been in a long time." asserted
I → have → time
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