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The coroner's office attributed Petty's death
at the age of 66 to a "mixed toxicity" of fentanyl, oxycodone,
generic Restoril, generic Xanax, generic Celexa, acetyl fentanyl,
and despropionyl fentanyl.
The medical examiner's report lists the manner of death as
"accidental."
Petty, whose ringing guitar riffs, distinctive vocals and
well-wrought everyman lyrics graced such hits as "Refugee,"
"Free Fallin’" and "American Girl," was found unconscious at his
home in Malibu on Oct. 2 and died at a hospital later that
night.
He had been engaged on a 40th anniversary tour of the United
States with his band the Heartbreakers at the time and had just
played three dates at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
"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," Petty's wife,
Dana and daughter, Adria, said in a Facebook post.
Dana and Adria Petty said that the veteran musician was
suffering from emphysema, knee problems and most significantly a
fractured hip that he was treating with medication so that he
could continue touring.
"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,"
Dana and Adria Petty said.
A 2015 biography of Petty revealed for the first time that he
was addicted to heroin in the 1990s.
Petty, who was born in Florida in 1950 and was best known for
his roots-infused rock music, carved a career as a solo artist
as well as with his band the Heartbreakers and as part of
supergroup the Traveling Wilburys.
He and the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame in 2002, when they were described by organizers as “the
quintessential American individualists,” capturing the voice of
the American everyman.
The man considered by many to be rock music's greatest
songwriter, Bob Dylan, called Petty's death “shocking, crushing
news” in a statement to Rolling Stone magazine at the time.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by
Sandra Maler and Lisa Shumaker)
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