The lead singer of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers died on Monday at UCLA Medical Center after going into cardiac arrest on Sunday.
- Oct 3, 2017
AceShowbiz - Tom Petty died on Monday, October 2, hours after it was reported that he was taken off life support at the hospital. The sad news was confirmed by Tony Dimitriades, longtime manager of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, on behalf of the family. He was 66.
"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 said in a statement.
Tom's friend and The Traveling Wilburys bandmate Bob Dylan was mourning Tom's death. "It's shocking, crushing news," he told Rolling Stone in a statement. "I thought the world of Tom. He was a great performer, full of the light, a friend, and I'll never forget him."
Tom was found unconscious and not breathing in his Malibu home on Sunday, TMZ reported earlier today. He was rushed to the UCLA Santa Monica Hospital, but by the time he got there he had no brain activity. He was put on life support.
On Monday morning, a decision was made to pull life support. The site reported that the rock star was not expected to live through the day, but he was still clinging to life.
Tom, who was also a member and co-founder of the late 1980s supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, and his early band Mudcrutch, became famous in 1978 with the success of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' "Breakdown".
The band just wrapped a summer tour last Monday with three nights at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The tour, which he said last year would likely be his "last big one," was launched in support of the group's debut LP's 40th anniversary.
