Hayden Panettiere's boyfriend's brother makes new claims about final moments before her death

The brother of Hayden Panettiere's boyfriend has claimed that Narcan was administered to the actor on the day of her death.

Panettiere, known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville, died on 16 August after being found unconscious at an Airbnb in Greenville, South Carolina, the day after travelling to the city with her on-and-off boyfriend, Brian Hickerson.

Now Hickerson's brother Zach has made new claims about the actor's death, telling TMZ that Brian had administered the medication while he called emergency services.

"[We] tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, we realised she was unconscious," Zach told the outlet.

"I immediately called 911 and Brian gave her Narcan. We then jointly performed CPR while 911 was on speaker until Fire and EMS arrived. At that point, we watched as they tried every measure possible to save her life."

Hayden Panettiere with Brian Hickerson, who was present at the Airbnb when she was pronounced dead (gotpap/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Narcan, also known as naloxone, is an emergency medication which rapidly reverses an opioid overdose and is administered nasally.

According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, naloxone works by blocking the body's opioid receptors and restores normal breathing. The medication only works if a person has opioids - such as heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, and morphine - in their system and has no effect on other types of overdose.

Following Panettiere's death, it was confirmed that she had died from a cardiac arrest with no sings of trauma discovered. No further details of her death have been released to the public, and an investigation is underway.

Zach also shared his recollection of events from 16 August, revealing that he made his way to the Airbnb at Judson Mill Lofts after attending Church.

"On Sunday morning, I woke up at my Airbnb, got dressed and went to Church. I exchanged messages that morning with Brian on my way. We planned on us all getting lunch and playing indoor golf after the service," he said.

After leaving Church, Zach tried to get in contact with the pair but was unable to get an answer to his text messages.

Assuming the pair were asleep, Zach drove to the Airbnb and knocked on the apartment door.

The actor died just days before her 37th birthday (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

"I knocked loudly which apparently woke Brian up from a nap they were both taking on the pull out couch bed in the living room," he continued. "When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, we realised she was unconscious."

Zach's comments come days after Brian broke his silence over the actor's death, issuing the following statement via TMZ: "Hayden's death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed."

Brian had been in an on-and-off relationship with Panettiere since 2018. The relationship ended in 2020 after Brian was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence.

Paying tribute to Panettiere, Zach added that he was 'beyond heartbroken and devastated'. "Hayden was one of my dearest and closest friends that I loved and cared about for the last 8 years," he said.

"Out of respect for her loved ones, the speculation and sensationalism of her death needs to end until the facts can be released from the investigation."