Tom Petty died due to accidental drug overdose - coroner

By Dan Whitcomb

 

FILE PHOTO: Musician Tom Petty arrives for the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, September 6, 2012. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/File Photo

 

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rocker Tom Petty died in October due to "multisystem organ failure" brought on by an accidental overdose of seven medications, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's office said on Friday.

 

The coroner's office attributed Petty's death at the age of 66 to a "mixed toxicity" of fentanyl, oxycodone, generic Restoril, generic Xanax, generic Celexa, acetyl fentanyl, and despropionyl fentanyl.

 

The medical examiner's report lists the manner of death as "accidental."

 

Petty, whose ringing guitar riffs, distinctive vocals and well-wrought everyman lyrics graced such hits as "Refugee," "Free Fallin’" and "American Girl," was found unconscious at his home in Malibu on Oct. 2 and died at a hospital later that night.

 

He had been engaged on a 40th anniversary tour of the United States with his band the Heartbreakers at the time and had just played three dates at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

 

"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," Petty's wife, Dana and daughter, Adria, said in a Facebook post.

 

Dana and Adria Petty said that the veteran musician was suffering from emphysema, knee problems and most significantly a fractured hip that he was treating with medication so that he could continue touring.

 

"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," Dana and Adria Petty said.

 

A 2015 biography of Petty revealed for the first time that he was addicted to heroin in the 1990s.

 

Petty, who was born in Florida in 1950 and was best known for his roots-infused rock music, carved a career as a solo artist as well as with his band the Heartbreakers and as part of supergroup the Traveling Wilburys.

 

He and the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, when they were described by organizers as “the quintessential American individualists,” capturing the voice of the American everyman.

 

The man considered by many to be rock music's greatest songwriter, Bob Dylan, called Petty's death “shocking, crushing news” in a statement to Rolling Stone magazine at the time.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-01-20

Damn. What a way to go. I had no idea he was on those drug. I thought he got clean. RIP.

 

Didn't like his "American" stuff but loved the Travelling Wilburys 

RIP Tom. Thanks for the tunes.

 

No doubt getting the Traveling Wilburys reunited. That's 3 of them so far. With all the actually great musicians passed away, there must be some great gigs in the sky.

33 minutes ago, MrPatrickThai said:

Damn. What a way to go. I had no idea he was on those drug. I thought he got clean. RIP.

 

Didn't like his "American" stuff but loved the Travelling Wilburys 

I'll be playing "end of the line" soon to remember another gone. 3 empty chairs.

Now it's an official Rock n Roll death

was lucky enough to see Tom a few times over the years in Santa Barbara. great shows.

Obviously the drug overdose was a heart-breaker.

 

37 minutes ago, connda said:

Obviously the drug overdose was a heart-breaker.

 

The man is dead and you're making jokes, classy.

Any of the drugs listed can kill a person if not taken properly never mind all of them at once. It is a wonder he had any feeling at all. Great man and musician. RIP Tom.

I think he is lucky it is listed as a accidental overdose.

Recent photos of him he didn't look good.

I believe a lot of people are fooled into thinking that drugs prescribed by a doctor are relatively safe however more people die from prescription drugs than street drugs.

 

RIP Tom, you will be sorely missed but not forgotten thanks to your music.

With all these Different drugs in his system How can this be called Accidental?

1 minute ago, kiniyow said:

With all these Different drugs in his system How can this be called Accidental?

 

because it is (apparently) not a suicide.

 

So many musicians continue to die way before their time due to OD: Tom Petty, Prince, Michael Jackson. Goes to show that the wealthy are not immune from some things. 

His life cut short by possibly twenty years. There are no accidental overdoses if you take it as prescribed by your doctor. He abused them.. Simple

8 minutes ago, toughlove said:

His life cut short by possibly twenty years. There are no accidental overdoses if you take it as prescribed by your doctor. He abused them.. Simple

 

In the US your primary care doctor is merely a source of referrals to specialists. Very seldom do the specialists know or care whatever other drugs you may be taking which were prescribed by other specialists.  Pharmacists, who know a hell of a lot more about pharmacology than doctors do are left as the last line of defense to catch dangerously high dosages and contra indicated prescriptions by various doctors one may be seeing. If the pharmacist is not your sole supplier of all your prescriptions he may not be aware of all the drugs one may be taking. Accidental death by prescription deaths is a major cause of death in America.  Not just by overdoses either.

 
In the US your primary care doctor is merely a source of referrals to specialists. Very seldom do the specialists know or care whatever other drugs you may be taking which were prescribed by other specialists.  Pharmacists, who know a hell of a lot more about pharmacology than doctors do are left as the last line of defense to catch dangerously high dosages and contra indicated prescriptions by various doctors one may be seeing. If the pharmacist is not your sole supplier of all your prescriptions he may not be aware of all the drugs one may be taking. Accidental death by prescription deaths is a major cause of death in America.  Not just by overdoses either.

If you are taking seriously powerfully drugs and you don't say anything about them to your new doctor when he prescribes another powerful drug then you are just doctor shopping.
. Petty was no idiot. Most people are not totall idiots and it's up to them to declare the drugs they are already on.

If it's a child then it's the parents responsibility.

14 minutes ago, toughlove said:

If you are taking seriously powerfully drugs and you don't say anything about them to your new doctor when he prescribes another powerful drug then you are just doctor shopping.
. Petty was no idiot. Most people are not totall idiots and it's up to them to declare the drugs they are already on.

If it's a child then it's the parents responsibility.

 

I guess you won't accept it until it happens to you or someone you care about.  Doesn't have to be "seriously powerful drugs" at all. It can be as benign as potassium supplements, iron infusions, diuretics, statins or blood pressure meds.  It is the follow up with frequent blood testing that is what is important to keep cocktails of various meds within reasonable boundaries.

People 65+ that have broken their hip are twice as likely to die in the following year compared to similarly aged people without a broken hip.

 

Tom was 66 with a broken hip. One could argue that the broken hip was the root cause of his death. 

 

“On the same day as his death, Petty had been informed that his hip fracture had progressed to a full break.” 

-Rolling Stone

Edited January 20, 20188 yr by music065

53 minutes ago, toughlove said:

His life cut short by possibly twenty years. There are no accidental overdoses if you take it as prescribed by your doctor. He abused them.. Simple

 

Be that as it may, if he did not intend to kill himself when he took the drugs it was an accident. 

3 hours ago, toughlove said:

If you are taking seriously powerfully drugs and you don't say anything about them to your new doctor when he prescribes another powerful drug then you are just doctor shopping.
. Petty was no idiot. Most people are not totall idiots and it's up to them to declare the drugs they are already on.

If it's a child then it's the parents responsibility.

We just lost someone that made our lives better with his music. Do we really have to start attacking him because he took too many pills?

Seriously, can we stop this becoming just one more thread for attacking people and just remember him as a great music hero?

 

Rock on Tom.