Tom Petty’s family has said 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 Facebook page on Friday night. Dana and Adria Petty said they got the results from the coroner’s office, saying the overdose was caused due to several medications.
They said Petty had emphysema, a fractured hip and knee problems that caused him pain, but was still committed to touring. On the day he died, his hip had graduated to a “full-on break” and they believed “the pain was simply unbearable and was the cause for his overuse of medication”.
“As a family we recognise this report may spark a further discussion on the opioid crisis and we feel that is a healthy and necessary discussion and we hope in some way this report can save lives,” the statement said. “Many people who overdose begin with a legitimate injury or simply do not understand the potency and deadly nature of these medications.”
Petty had wrapped up a tour a few days before he died in October at age 66.