Tom Petty died of accidental drug overdose, coroner says

Andrea Mandell | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Tom Petty died of an 'accidental drug overdose', family confirms Tom Petty‘s family has revealed the iconic rocker died of an accidental drug overdose

More than three months after rocker Tom Petty died, his official cause of death has been determined as an accidental drug overdose.

Los Angeles County coroner spokesman Ed Winter confirmed Petty's autopsy results, which were written by Chief of Coroner Investigations Brian Elias, in a statement to USA TODAY.

Petty had a mixture of fentanyl, oxycodone, temazepam, alprazolam, citalopram, acetylfentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl in his system. The musician,66, was found unconscious and in cardiac arrest at his Malibu home on Oct. 3 and died at the UCLA Medical Center that evening.

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According to the coroner's report, Petty had fallen asleep next to his wife on the couch in their living room. She momentarily left to go into their kitchen, and upon her return found him unresponsive and not breathing.

Paramedics performed CPR on Petty on site and saw signs of a pulse, but the musician went into cardiac arrest en route to the hospital. Once there, Petty experienced additional cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead roughly 21 hours after being admitted.

Petty's wife, Dana, and daughter, Adria, released a statement Friday saying the musician had been battling "unbearable" pain due to a hip fracture prior to his death.

"Unfortunately Tom’s body suffered from many serious ailments including emphysema, knee problems and most significantly a fractured hip," they wrote. "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."

The statement continued: "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."

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The autopsy also cites coronary artery atherosclerosis and emphysema among Petty's other conditions.

His family members say they knew Petty was prescribed various pain medications, including Fentanyl patches (the powerful opioid was cited in Prince's autopsy in 2016). They say they feel confident Petty's death was "an unfortunate accident."

The Petty family also acknowledged the nationwide opioid crisis, writing that they "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."

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Petty died "painlessly" doing what he loved, his wife and daughter said in closing.

"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."