'It was an unfortunate accident': Tom Petty's family reveal he died of an overdose from a huge cocktail of pain medication - including Fentanyl and oxycodone - that he was taking for a broken hip
Tom Petty's family has confirmed his death last year was due to an accidental drug overdose.
His wife and daughter released the results of Petty's autopsy via a statement on his website, and through a link on his Facebook page Friday night.
Dana and Adria Petty said they got the results from the coroner's office earlier in the day that the overdose was caused due to a variety of medications.
'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,' his family wrote.
It was also confirmed that while he had been touring with a fractured hip, Petty's fracture had escalated into a total break leading up to his untimely death.
Tom Petty's family has confirmed his death last year was due to an accidental drug overdose from prescribed medication, in a statement released on Friday. Petty is seen here performing during halftime of the Super Bowl XLII football game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots in Glendale, Arizona on February 3, 2008
Petty is pictured with daughter Adria Petty and wife Dana Petty at the 2012 MTV Video Awards in Los Angeles, California; The women Friday released a statement about his death
'Many people who overdose begin with a legitimate injury or simply do not understand the potency and deadly nature of these medications,' the family wrote in the statement.
'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.'
They added: 'On a positive note we now know for certain he went painlessly and beautifully exhausted after doing what he loved the most.'
The statement was posted moments before the Los Angeles coroner's office issued its official findings, which confirmed that Petty had a variety of medications, including fentanyl and oxycodone in his system.
Petty is seen on September 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. It was Petty's long-time manager, Tony Dimitriades, who first confirmed his death to the public in October
The official cause was ruled as 'multisystem organ failure' caused by accidental drug toxicity, the Los Angeles County Coroner said Friday.
Other drugs in the singer's system included temazepam, alprazolam, citalopram, acetylfentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl, the coroner's office said.
'A lot of these are found in prescription drugs,' said Brian Elias, a coroner’s spokesman, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Petty suffered from emphysema, a fractured hip and knee problems that caused him pain but he was still committed to touring, his family said.
It was Petty's long-time manager, Tony Dimitriades, who first confirmed his death to the public in October.
'On behalf of the Tom Petty family, we are devastated to announce the untimely death of of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend Tom Petty,' Dimitriades wrote in a statement on October 2.
'He suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of this morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Center but could not be revived. He died peacefully at 8:40 pm Pacific surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends.'
He had just wrapped up a word tour with his band, The Heartbreakers, a week before he died in October at age 66.
The last song Petty performed was American Girl.
Petty had a variety of medications, including fentanyl and oxycodone in his system, when he died in October at the age of 66. The family released a statement above
The statement was posted moments before the Los Angeles coroner's office issued its official findings, which confirmed that Petty had a variety of medications, including fentanyl and oxycodone in his system
Petty is seen here on Day 10 of the RBC Bluesfest on July 16, 2017 in Ottawa, Canada
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