Hayden Panettiere was reportedly seen being escorted out of her Los Angeles apartment on a gurney by firefighters on two separate occasions amid her rocky relationship with Brian Hickerson, according to a neighbor’s account.
In an exclusive interview with Page Six, Mia Terrazas, who remains a resident of the same West Hollywood complex, recounted witnessing these distressing incidents on July 29, 2023, and January 16, 2024. We’ve reviewed evidence that appears to support these dates.
Terrazas reported seeing “bright red spots” and “bruises” on Panettiere, a tragic figure whose relationship with Hickerson was plagued by allegations of domestic abuse, arrests, and criminal proceedings. She noted that Hickerson was present and staying close by her side on both occasions.
“It looked like she had been beaten. I couldn’t interpret it as being anything else,” Terrazas remarked, explaining that Panettiere frequently seemed “battered.”
Echoing her mother’s observations, Terrazas’ daughter, Vileena Koneru, who resided with her at the time, confirmed witnessing the same troubling signs.
During the 2023 incident, Terrazas said she asked Panettiere while she was on the gurney whether she was OK. The “Heroes” star allegedly replied, “Yes.”
Koneru told us she was present for the 2024 incident, too. She and Terrazas said they tried to raise “concerns” with the responding firefighters both times.
Reps for the Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 7 did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment, and we cannot confirm whether the incidents were domestic in nature.
In addition to the gurney incidents, Terrazas claimed to us she often heard “muffled arguments” coming from Panettiere’s nearby unit, adding, “You can tell somebody’s arguing just by the tonality. … It was very hostile.”
She also claimed she once heard the “Remember the Titans” star “screaming” at Hickerson, 37, in the elevator, “Just leave me alone! Just stop!” though it’s unclear what exactly happened in the elevator.
In July 2020, Los Angeles prosecutors filed an eight-count case against Hickerson, including multiple felony counts of corporal injury, assault with a deadly weapon, battery and dissuading a witness. He initially pleaded not guilty, but in April 2021, he pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or cohabitant, while the remaining charges were dismissed.
Hickerson was sentenced to 45 days in jail, four years of probation, domestic violence classes and restitution, while Panettiere was granted a five-year protective order, which expired this past April.
Terrazas told us she saw Hickerson at the apartment complex during that time despite the active protective order, so she called the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department “quite a few times” to report it.
She claimed deputies “removed” Hickerson from the property at least once but that she saw him back there the next day.
Terrazas didn’t understand how Hickerson could legally be on the premises, but the sheriff’s department allegedly explained to her that he and Panettiere kept coming back together despite deputies’ efforts to separate them.
“I understood their point,” Terrazas acknowledged. “I just kept calling because I was hoping I would get a different answer.”
Reps for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
In August 2025, the building’s homeowners association posted flyers warning residents of Hickerson “trespassing”‘ on the property. They were encouraged to call 911 if they saw him in the common areas or hallways.
A momentarily relieved Terrazas told us she was confused and upset when the notices “mysteriously” came down after about a week. She tried reposting them, but the HOA allegedly explained to her that “Brian’s no longer a threat” because he’s going to “drug rehab.” (Hickerson claimed he checked himself into a treatment program sometime in 2022, but we were unable to locate any records of a 2025 rehab stay.)
Reps for the HOA did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Hickerson and Panettiere openly discussed their struggles with alcoholism and drug addiction. While Terrazas “never saw them actually doing any type of drugs,” she told us it was “pretty apparent sometimes.”
“Brian always seemed to be high or disconnected. He just kind of had this odd, flat effect, I guess I could describe it as,” Terrazas claimed. “Hayden sometimes would seem out of it.”
Terrazas added she was “terrified” of Hickerson given both his well-documented history of domestic violence and the time he allegedly “followed” her down the stairs in her building.
“I’m 61. I’m moving really slow down those stairs, and he’s just right behind me. Didn’t pass me up or anything. And I thought, ‘Is that to intimidate me?’” she wondered.
Terrazas became emotional when telling us Panettiere “seemed like a different person” when she was around Hickerson, lamenting that the “Nashville” star was “very subdued” in his presence.
“She was just so lovely … and just seeing her and passing frequently and, you know, the little chats that I had with her — she made such an impression, and she was such a bright light,” Terrazas shared as she started to cry.
“Just as a human being. Never mind the talent; she was a human being, you know? And she deserved so much better. I felt everybody just used her up, and she just deserved better. … I just wish I could have done more. I just can’t believe I’ll never see her again.”
Hickerson’s attorney declined to comment on this story when reached by Page Six.
Panettiere and Hickerson, who is from South Carolina, flew there together last Saturday. She died of a suspected “overdose,” according to the Greenville Police Department dispatch, at an Airbnb in Greenville the following day at age 36.
Hickerson subsequently showed responding officers a “bag of medication” she had allegedly been taking.
His brother Zach Hickerson, who was also on the scene, went on to claim to TMZ that Brian administered Narcan — an emergency medication used to reverse an opioid overdose — after waking up from a nap in the bedroom and finding Panettiere “unresponsive” in a chair in the living room.
Zach, 38, added that he and Brian “jointly performed CPR” until emergency medical personnel arrived.
First responders “initiated advanced cardiac life support measures,” but their “resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful,” and Panettiere was pronounced dead within 45 minutes, per the Greenville County Coroner’s Office.
According to the autopsy report, “no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.” However, the investigation — which did not initially indicate “any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances” — remains “active and ongoing” as the coroner awaits toxicology results to determine the cause and manner of her death.
“While an investigation is ongoing and further developments are coming to light, we are confident that justice will soon be served,” Panettiere’s rep told Page Six when reached for comment on this story.
Meanwhile, Hickerson broke his silence on her death and associated investigation on Thursday, telling us via his attorney, “Hayden’s death remains under investigation, and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed.
“As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play. Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.”
In May of this year, Panettiere spoke publicly about her on-off relationship with Hickerson, which began in 2018.
In both her memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” and the book’s accompanying press tour, she explained that every time she “found the strength to get away from [her] abusers,” they would “always find their way back into [her] life.”
The former child star went on to say Hickerson would become violent when under the influence, sober up and apologize, leaving her in a “dizzying cycle” because being “alone” admittedly scared her more than “tolerat[ing] abuse.”
Hickerson, for his part, did not deny Panettiere’s specific allegations. Instead, he broadly confessed in a subsequent interview with TMZ that he was abusive toward her, struggled with addiction and regretted how he treated her.
However, as recently as June, the aspiring actor made a chilling comment to an Instagram user who asked him, “Some woman dates you???”
Hickerson replied, “Yes, its wonderful if she gets out of line I just Google myself and say hey stop it this is what I’m allegedly capable of.”
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
