Zach Hickerson, the brother of Hayden Panettiere's boyfriend Brian Hickerson, has spoken publicly for the first time about the day the actress died, detailing the moments leading up to her being found unconscious.
Hayden Panettiere, known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville, was found dead in an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina earlier this week.
Morning of the tragedy
Recalling the events of that Sunday, Zach said he woke at his Airbnb, got dressed and went to church. He exchanged messages with Brian on the way, and they planned to get lunch and play indoor golf together after the service.
When he left church, Zach called and texted both Brian and Hayden. Unable to reach either of them, he assumed they might have fallen back asleep, so he drove over to the Airbnb. He knew the code to the building but not the door code to the Airbnb.
Discovery and emergency response
Zach told TMZ that he knocked loudly, which woke Brian from a nap they were both taking on the pull-out couch bed in the living room. When they went in and tried to wake Hayden for lunch, they realised she was unconscious.
He immediately called 911, and Brian gave Hayden Narcan, a medication used to reverse the effects of an overdose. They then jointly performed CPR while 911 was on speaker until Fire and EMS arrived. At that point, they watched as emergency responders tried every measure possible to save her life.
Tribute and call for truth
Zach described himself as "beyond heartbroken" by Hayden's death, calling her one of his "dearest and closest friends". In a tribute, he said he was "devastated by this tragic and traumatic loss" and that he had loved and cared for Hayden for the last eight years.
In a statement, Zach said he wanted to speak out because people "deserve the truth". He acknowledged that there are "a lot of assumptions, speculations and accusations currently swirling", adding that "the truth will come out as the authorities complete and release additional details from the investigation".
Clarifying his involvement, he said he wanted to keep the focus on the fact that "we lost one of the most precious individuals on this earth" and allow those who cared about her to mourn without additional noise, chaos and misinformation being created by the media and the public.
