At 1:50 in the afternoon on Sunday, August 16, Greenville, South Carolina police received an emergency call from a friend of Hayden Panettiere. She was reported as an unconscious woman. When paramedics arrived, they began administering advanced cardiac life support. Chest compressions, breathing tubes, specific medications, and heart rhythm monitoring.
Nothing worked. At 2:32 in the afternoon, 42 minutes after the call, emergency crews declared the 36-year-old actress dead. According to dispatch audio obtained by PEOPLE, officers mentioned the words “overdose” and “cardiac arrest” at that time, although Greenville police have not officially confirmed that cause.
Authorities are investigating the case, but so far they have found no signs of violence or suspicious circumstances. The official cause of death will not be known until after the autopsy. Panettiere, remembered for her role in Heroes, Nashville, and the Scream saga, leaves behind an 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, from her relationship with Wladimir Klitschko.
