Tom Petty hospitalized following heart attack
Early reports of his death rattle friends and fans
Rocker Tom Petty remained hospitalized Monday in Los Angeles after being found unconscious and in cardiac arrest at his Malibu home Sunday, the Los Angeles County Fire Department told USA TODAY.
Initial reports Monday from TMZ and CBS said Petty, 66, had died. CBS cited the Los Angeles Police Department as its source. LAPD later tweeted that it was a mistake and that they had no investigative role in the case.
Variety also reported Petty had died, citing an anonymous source.
TMZ initially reported that Petty had “no brain activity” when he reached the hospital and that life support was pulled. An hour later, the website reported that he was still “clinging to life” but was not expected to survive.
Representatives for Petty did not return calls and emails requesting comment.
Petty, who came to fame in the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, was taken to UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica after Fire Department emergency medical personnel worked to revive him.
His condition was unclear Monday night, and the hospital cited federal law on patient confidentiality for declining to confirm reports about any “potential patient.”
Petty, a grandfather, just finished a 40th-anniversary tour at the end of September, playing arenas, festivals and an occasional stadium.
“I’m thinking it may be the last trip around the country,” Petty told Rolling Stone in December before the tour kicked off in April. “It’s very likely we’ll keep playing, but will we take on 50 shows in one tour? I don’t think so. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was thinking this might be the last big one. We’re all on the backside of our 60s. I have a granddaughter now I’d like to see as much as I can.
“I don’t want to spend my life on the road. This tour will take me away for four months. With a little kid, that’s a lot of time.”