Petty passed away on October 2nd

Tom Petty’s cause of death has been revealed. The late singer’s family has released that the “Free Fallin'” singer did not pass away unexpectedly last October at the age of 66, one week after wrapping his final tour, from a heart attack as initially reported.

“Our family sat together this morning with the Medical Examiner – Coroner’s office and we were informed of their final analysis that Tom Petty passed away due to an accidental drug overdose as a result of taking a variety of medications,” his family writes on social media.

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

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“We continue to mourn with you and marvel at Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ incredible positive impact on music and the world. And we thank you all for your love and support over the last months.

“Thank you also for respecting the memory of a man who was truly great during his time on this planet both publicly and privately.

“We would be grateful if you could respect the privacy of the entire Heartbreaker family during this difficult time.

“Dana Petty and Adria Petty”

On October 2nd, authorities responded to Petty’s Malibu home around 10:52 am after receiving a call he’d suffered a heart attack. Emergency responders were able to get a pulse back, but revealed at the time, Petty was in critical condition at a Los Angeles area hospital.

By midday, CBS News initially reported that Petty had died, but they and the LAPD retracted the statement, saying, “The LAPD has no information about the passing of singer Tom Petty. Initial information was inadvertantly provided to some media sources. However, the LAPD has no investigative role in this matter. We apologize for any inconvenience in this reporting.”

Unfortunately, Petty passed away later that night. His publicist Carla Sacks confirmed the news, writing, “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. 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 p.m. PT surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends — Tony Dimitriades, longtime manager of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers on behalf of the family.”