UPDATE: Tom Petty dies at 66

UPDATE: Tom Petty dies at 66
Tom Petty of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers perform during their 40th Anniversary Tour at Bridgestone Arena on April 25, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Sacks and Co)
Jack Phillips
10/2/2017
Updated:
10/3/2017
Update: Tom Petty’s manager says he died on Monday night, the CNN and New York Times reported.
“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 8:40pm PT surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends,” Tom Dimitriades said in a statement.

Earlier update:

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Earlier report:

Tom Petty, the longtime singer-songwriter, is in critical condition after going into cardiac arrest.

The 66-year-old “Learning to Fly” singer was found unresponsive and not breathing outside his home in Malibu, TMZ reported.

He was then rushed to the UCLA Santa Monica Hospital.

TMZ reported that he has been in critical condition as of Sunday night. He was put on life support.

“We’re told after Petty got to the hospital he had no brain activity and a decision was made to pull life support,” TMZ reported on Monday afternoon. The website, however, didn’t elaborate on that statement.

According to EW.com, the Los Angeles County Fire Department did not confirm a name, but they confirmed that “they were dispatched to the home of an elderly unconscious male around 10:45 p.m. on Sunday night and transported him to a local hospital.”

Petty is known for hits like “Free Fallin,” “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” “Refugee,” “I Won’t Back Down,” and a slew of others.

He recently wrapped up a long North American tour.

Petty has nabbed three Grammy wins over the years.

Fellow singer Sheryl Crow tweeted about Petty, saying “I love you so much. You are in my prayers.”
Petty told Rolling Stone last December that the tour that he had just concluded will be the “last big one.”

“We’re all on the backside of our 60s,” he told the magazine. “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.”

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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