Rocker Tom Petty Died From ‘an Accidental Drug Overdose’

The musician was taking a number of prescription medications.

Steve Huff

Jan 20, 2018

Tom Petty struggled with substance abuse in the past. In the end, a coroner’s report indicated prescription meds with practical uses did him in.

Petty died on Oct. 2, 2017 in LA from a heart attack. Even though he had a broken hip, he’d maintained an incredibly active performing schedule, bypassing the pain with prescription meds. These included the opioid Fentanyl. In a joint statement posted on Petty’s website and Facebook, wife Dana and daughter Adria provided more details.

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Petty didn’t OD on the pain meds on purpose. He was simply in a great deal of pain. “On the day he died he was informed his hip had graduated to a full on break,” the Facebook statement continued, “and it is our feeling that the pain was simply unbearable and was the cause for his over use of medication.”

The Pettys stated that they knew the singer was coping with multiple issues that required a variety of meds—like Fentanyl—and they were “confident that this was, as the coroner found, an unfortunate accident.”

For a rocker who had experienced so many of the issues that can come with that lifestyle, Tom Petty had a remarkably long career—four decades. In that time he created some classics.

The music world will miss him for years to come. Watch videos for some of his hits below.