911 call reveals frantic response at address where Hayden Panettiere was found unresponsive

ABC News obtained the recording through a Freedom of Information Act request to Greenville County EMS. First responders “initiated advanced cardiac life support measures” after she was found unresponsive, according to officials, and the TV star was pronounced dead around 2:32 p.m. ET on Aug. 16. 

“[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. 

During the seven-minute phone call, the 911 operator can be heard walking the caller through the steps of CPR before first responders arrive. The caller appears to be the brother of Panettiere’s former boyfriend.

“Is she breathing?” the operator asked. 

“No,” the caller said. 

“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. 

The operator can be heard counting the number of chest compressions while the caller attempted to administer life-saving aid. 

“We’re going to do this 500 times or until help can arrive, OK?” the operator said. “Start counting now — one, two, three, four; one, two three, four; one, two, three, four; one, two, three, four.”

South Carolina law does not allow the release of information in response to FOIA requests that identify an individual by name. The audio corresponds to the date and address of the incident, and the details in the call align with the publicly released information about Panettiere’s death.

ABC News has reached out a representative for Panettiere.

Panettiere’s death was ruled an accidental overdose from drugs, including fentanyl, according to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office in South Carolina.

The Greenville City Police Department is investigating Panettiere’s death, and the Drug Enforcement Administration also joined the investigation, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Panettiere’s ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson was present at the scene when she died, according to a police report obtained by ABC News.

The officer also wrote in the report that they spoke with Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach Hickerson, who was also on scene, while EMS “was working on the patient.” Zach Hickerson described Panettiere as his brother’s girlfriend.

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