Tom Petty died of “accidental drug overdose” say family

Tom Petty
Tom Petty (Image credit: Getty)

The family of Tom Petty have issued a statement reporting that he died as the result of “an accidental drug overdose.”

The US musician died in October last year at the age of 66 – and it’s now been revealed that he’d been taking painkillers and medication for various conditions, including emphysema, knee problems and a fractured hip.

Petty’s family report that on the day he died, he’d been told that his hip fracture had become a full break and it was their feeling that “the pain was simply unbearable and was the cause for his over use of medication.”

The statement continues: “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 recognise 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.”

Petty’s last album, Hypnotic Eye, was released in 2014, and he had been performing regularly since.

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Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.