Brian Hickerson appears to be heading toward a potentially tragic downfall.
Hayden Panettiere’s troubled former boyfriend was involved in a dramatic motorcycle crash just minutes after collecting his brother from jail on Sunday, Our News Outlet can reveal. The incident came as people close to Hickerson said he is “all kinds of f****d up right now” following Panettiere’s death.
Exclusive Daily Mail footage shows Hickerson’s 38-year-old brother, Zach, limping in pain after he was reportedly thrown from the back of the motorcycle when it clipped a car in traffic early Sunday evening in Greenville, South Carolina.
Witnesses said 37-year-old Brian helped Zach reach the curb before riding away on the Suzuki Hayabusa. His injured brother was then left to exchange insurance information with the driver of the other vehicle.
The crash followed a chaotic night for the brothers. Hours earlier, they had both been handcuffed at the scene of a bar fight on Saturday night, where Brian was left with blood running from his face and Zach was later accused of disorderly conduct.
Brian, who has reportedly lost 40 pounds since Panettiere died of a suspected fentanyl overdose a month ago, was involved in an angry confrontation with other patrons at Wild Wing Cafe in Greenville, South Carolina.
According to TMZ, a heckler taunted the realtor and aspiring actor, allegedly shouting: “You killed her. You probably beat her.” Hickerson has not been charged with, or accused of, any wrongdoing in connection with Panettiere’s death.
Hickerson reportedly threw a bar stool backward but was not arrested. Police said Zach was highly intoxicated and shouting profanities before he was detained on a disorderly conduct charge.
Hayden Panettiere’s troubled ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson was involved in a dramatic motorcycle crash in Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday evening, during which his brother Zach was reportedly thrown from the back of the bike
Exclusive Daily Mail images show Zach, left, limping just minutes after his brother Brian, right, allegedly clipped a car in traffic. Brian had only recently collected his sibling from jail when the crash occurred
Hayden Panettiere and Brian Hickerson had an on-off relationship that was marked by domestic abuse allegations in the years before her reported death last month
Brian and Zach were both at the Greenville, South Carolina, condominium where Panettiere was pronounced dead in August
The reported collision took place at about 5:30 p.m. the following day, after Zach was released from the Greenville County Detention Center on a $257.50 personal recognizance bond and Brian arrived to pick him up.
It was not immediately known who was responsible for the crash or whether Zach, who lost a shoe during the fall, suffered serious injuries.
Daily Mail contacted both brothers for comment. They had reportedly been wearing helmets at the time, but neither responded.
The brush with disaster came as no shock to family friends who said troubled Brian has barely left his grandma’s home in weeks.
Saturday night’s bar outing was supposedly an attempt to get him to shake off the deep despair that has gripped him since Panettiere’s August 16 overdose.
‘Brian is not dealing with things well,’ a concerned pal warned Our News Outlet.
‘I would go in there and try to see him but he would probably want to fight me. Me and the rest of the world. He is all kinds of f****d up right now.’
Brian’s antics are the latest glimpse into the turmoil surrounding the sudden death of Panettiere, who had a well-documented history of alcohol and opioid addiction.
Onlookers said Brian helped his brother hobble to the curb before riding away on the Suzuki Hayabusa – leaving his dazed sibling to swap insurance details with the motorist
Zach, who lost a shoe during the ordeal, had spent the night holed at the Greenville County Detention Center after the brothers got into a bar fight
At one point, Zach could be seen inspecting his hand after tumbling from the motorcycle. He could be seen putting his hands on his hips and looking at the sky in the moments after
The Nashville actress, 36, was found unresponsive at an upmarket Airbnb after flying from Los Angeles to Greenville, where Brian grew up.
Brian told police he woke from a nap and administered Narcan before paramedics arrived but was unable to revive her.
Zach, a pastor and former healthcare exec, was also there. They both attempted CPR to no avail.
According to a police report Zach was ‘very emotional’ as first responders tried to save mom-of-one Panettiere’s life.
Brian was stoic and did not become ‘visibly emotional’ until after the star was pronounced dead. He handed cops a ‘bag of medication’ she was taking, the report added.
An official cause of death has still not been determined but investigators are said to be closing in on a ‘longtime drug dealer’ based out of LA.
TMZ reported that multiple law-enforcement sources believe Panettiere took a single oxycodone pill on the morning of her death that was laced with fentanyl.
Zach had been riding on the back of his brother’s motorcycle when they apparently struck a car – causing Zach to fall and lose a shoe
Zach, who had only just been picked up from jail, was forced to put his sneaker back on on the side the road
The ordeal unfolded when Brian, who has served time in the past for domestic violence, arrived to pick up his brother from jail
Investigators are now trying to establish where the black-market pill came from and identify the person who supplied it.
They are reportedly digging into a trove of text messages between Panettiere and the alleged peddler, including messages exchanged right up until the week she died.
Brian has already spoken with federal investigators as part of the probe, according to TMZ, but he has not faced arrest and has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Panettiere and Brian began dating in 2018 and endured a volatile on-again, off-again relationship.
Brian was arrested in 2019 over an alleged attack on Panettiere and was later arrested again in Wyoming in February 2020.
He ultimately pleaded no contest in 2021 to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend and was sentenced to 45 days, though he spent only 13 behind bars.
The brothers appeared to be in a heated exchange with hecklers on Saturday at a Greenville, South Carolina restaurant – ultimately leading to police placing Brian in handcuffs and Zach being arrested
Panettiere briefly dated Zach Hickerson, the brother of her on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson after Brian was locked up for domestic abuse. They were spotted holding hands in New York City in 2019
Panettiere later described the relationship and the abuse she said she endured in her memoir, detailing how addiction and violence became intertwined with a romance that she repeatedly struggled to leave.
Zach described Panettiere as ‘one of my dearest and closest friends’ in the wake of her death.
Daily Mail revealed that Zach and Panettiere had also been in a brief relationship.
She was photographed holding hands with him in New York City in 2019 when an onlooker remarked: ‘They looked very comfortable. Like a real couple.’
Brian’s lawyer Sloane Ellis has been contacted for comment.
‘Hayden’s death remains under investigation, and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed,’ he previously said.
‘As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play.’
The Greenville County Coroner’s office told Our News Outlet: ‘It should not be much longer before the Coroner’s Investigation report is complete to include the cause and manner of death.’
