Tom Petty died of accidental drugs overdose
Tom Petty died of an accidental drugs overdose after taking various painkillers, his family have revealed in a statement.
In a post on Tom Petty’s official website, his widow Dana and daughter Adria said the singer had been suffering from a number of ailments including a fractured hip before his death and said he took medication to cope with the "unbearable" pain.
Yesterday morning (19th January), Dana and Adria met with the medical examiner at the coroner’s office who informed them of their final analysis that Tom died of an accidental drug’s overdose.
Tom was discovered unconscious, not breathing and in full cardiac arrest at his Malibu home on 2nd October 2017. He was rushed to hospital where he couldn’t be revived and he died later that evening aged 66.
The rock icon had played a three-night residency at the Hollywood Bowl just a week before his death and had been touring throughout the summer on the band’s 40th anniversary tour including London’s Hyde Park.
A report from the Los Angeles coroner's office said Tom’s death was caused by ”multi-system organ failure" due to a "mixed toxicity” seven different medications - fentanyl, oxycodone, temazepam, alprazolam, citalopram, acetyl fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl.
The full family statement reads:
Our family sat together this morning with the medical examiner – coroner’s office and we were informed of their final analysis that Tom Petty passed away due to an accidental drug overdose as a result of taking a variety of medications.
Unfortunately tom’s body suffered from many serious ailments including emphysema, knee problems and most significantly a fractured hip. Despite this painful injury he insisted on keeping his commitment to his fans and he toured for 53 dates with a fractured hip and, as he did, it worsened to a more serious injury.
On the day he died he was informed his hip had graduated to a full on break and it is our feeling that the pain was simply unbearable and was the cause for his over use of medication.
We knew before the report was shared with us that he was prescribed various pain medications for a multitude of issues including fentanyl patches and we feel confident that this was, as the coroner found, an unfortunate accident.
As a family we recognize this report may spark a further discussion on the opioid crisis and we feel that it is a healthy and necessary discussion and we hope in some way this report can save lives. many people who overdose begin with a legitimate injury or simply do not understand the potency and deadly nature of these medications.
On a positive note we now know for certain he went painlessly and beautifully exhausted after doing what he loved the most, for one last time, performing live with his unmatchable rock band for his loyal fans on the biggest tour of his 40 plus year career. He was extremely proud of that achievement in the days before he passed.
We continue to mourn with you and marvel at Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers incredible positive impact on music and the world. and we thank you all for your love and support over the last months.
Thank you also for respecting the memory of a man who was truly great during his time on this planet both publicly and privately.
We would be grateful if you could respect the privacy of the entire heartbreaker family during this difficult time.
Dana Petty and Adria Petty