On October 2, 2017, Tom Petty died just one week after wrapping up a 40th anniversary tour with the Heartbreakers, and just 18 days before his 67th birthday. Petty’s death was the result of an accidental overdose of medication he was taking for various ailments, including a fractured hip, according to a report by the Los Angeles County medical examiner.
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Petty died of “multisystem organ failure due to resuscitated cardiopulmonary arrest due to mixed drug toxicity,” according to the report, which listed the drugs in his system as “fentanyl, oxycodone, temazepam, alprazolam, citalopram, acetylfentanyl, and despropionyl fentanyl.”
In a statement, Petty’s family revealed that he was suffering from a number of other conditions, including knee problems and emphysema, prior to this death. On the day of his death, Petty also learned that his hip fracture was a full break. He initially injured his hip after slipping and falling during a rehearsal for his final tour with the Heartbreakers.
“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 overuse of medication,” read the statement by Petty’s family. “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.”
The statement continued, “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.”
Prior to his death, Petty had finished a 53-date tour with the Heartbreakers, which kicked off on April 20 in Oklahoma City. The tour crossed the U.S. and made stops in the U.K. and Canada, along with nine festival dates before wrapping up on the band’s final show together on September 25 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California with special guest Lucinda Williams.
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“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,” said Petty’s family. “He was extremely proud of that achievement in the days before he passed.”
In his final interview, just days before his death, Petty talked about a Los Angeles band he was working with called The Shelters and continuing to work on his SiriusXM show Tom Petty’s Buried Treasure. He also expressed his gratification with the tour, which had just ended two days prior.
“This year has been a wonderful year for us,” said Petty to the Los Angeles Times. “This has been that big slap on the back we never got.”
He also said that it was difficult for him to rest and was always in the studio. “It’s hard for me,” he said. “If I don’t have a project going, I don’t feel like I’m connected to anything. I don’t even think it’s that healthy for me. I like to get out of bed and have a purpose.”
Petty added, “It is grueling to do a very, very long one [tour]. This was quite a long one. It’s sometimes physically hard. But then the lights go down, you hear the crowd and you’re all better. You feel like, ‘OK, let’s do it.’”
Photo: Martyn Atkins / Courtesy of Sacks & Co.
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