Tom Petty died of accidental drug overdose

Tom Petty. Pic/AFP

Musician Tom Petty, a songwriter who melded California rock with a deep, stubborn Southern heritage, died of an accidental overdose after taking various painkillers, according to a statement issued by his family. According to the statement, Petty "suffered from many serious ailments...most significantly a fractured hip", reports bbc.com.

Petty's family met with a medical examiner on Friday morning and updated his fans through a post on Facebook on Friday night. Petty was found unconscious, not breathing and in full cardiac arrest at his Malibu home on October 2 last year. He was taken to hospital, but could not be revived and died later that evening. He was 66. Family members say they believe he was overusing prescription pain medication when he died.

Petty found fame as the lead singer of band Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, with hits like "American girl" and "Breakdown". "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", the statement said.

"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." According to bbc.com, they added that his death "may spark a further discussion on the opioid crisis and we feel that is a necessary and healthy discussion". Petty was also a co-founder of the Traveling Wilburys group in the late 1980s, recording albums with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and George Harrison.

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