Over A Month After She Died At Age 36, Hayden Panettiere’s Official Cause Of Death Has Been Confirmed

Posted 5 hours ago

Content Warning: This post briefly discusses mental health and substance abuse struggles.

Hayden Panettiere, known for roles in Heroes, Nashville, and Bring It On: All or Nothing, tragically died on Aug. 16 at age 36.

Hayden — who had talked openly about her struggles with substance abuse, opioid addiction, and mental health — was found unresponsive at an apartment complex in South Carolina, where she had been staying with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson.

"First responders and Emergency Medical Services arrived on scene and located a female in cardiac arrest," the Greenville County Coroner’s Office said in a statement on Aug. 17. "EMS personnel initiated advanced cardiac life support measures; however, resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and the individual was pronounced deceased at 2:32 PM."

Officials were apparently heard discussing an "overdose" on the dispatch radio around the time of Hayden's passing. A police report also claimed that Brian presented police with a "bag of medication" that Hayden had allegedly been taking at the time of her death.

Brian's brother, Zach Hickerson, was also present at the scene of Hayden's death. He alleged that Brian "gave her Narcan" before they "jointly performed CPR" until Fire and EMS arrived. A police report corroborated this, reporting that Narcan — a treatment designed to rapidly reverse the effects of a life-threatening opioid emergency — was found at the scene. An autopsy completed on Aug. 17 showed there were "no signs of trauma" that "would have contributed to the death."

Now, over a month after Hayden's passing, her official cause of death has been confirmed.

The Greenville County Coroner’s office confirmed on Sept. 22 that her death has been ruled as the result of the toxic effects of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, Alprazolam, Methocarbamol, and Quetiapine. The manner of death has been ruled an accident.

The cause of death confirmation comes three days after an intimate memorial service was held in Hayden's memory. The event, which took place in Malibu on Saturday, was reportedly attended by around 150 of Hayden's loved ones, including her former Nashville costars Connie Britton, Charles Esten, Sam Palladio, and Jonathan Jackson, as well as celebs like Evan Ross and Ruby Rose.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, you can call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and find more resources here.

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