Update: Rocker Tom Petty dies at 66 after going into cardiac arrest

Image: tompetty.com

Oct. 2 (UPI) — Grammy-award winning rocker Tom Petty lingered near death Monday after being found unconscious at his Malibu, California home. His manager and his family announced later Monday night that he died at 8:40 p.m.

Authorities told TMZ that Petty wasn’t breathing and was in full cardiac arrest when he was discovered. EMTs took him to UCLA Santa Monica Hospital, where he was put on life support.

Hospital staff determined he had no brain activity and life support was pulled, TMZ reported.

On Monday afternoon, CBS News reported Petty had died, but later withdrew the claim which it had attributed to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Petty is best known as the front man of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, which formed in 1978 and had hits such as “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” and “Learning to Fly.” He has also had a solo career with hits like “Free Fallin'” and “American Girl.”

He wrapped up a tour with the Heartbreakers on Sept. 25. Petty told Rolling Stone in December 2016 that the 40th anniversary tour would likely be his last large tour.

“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,” he said. “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.”

Petty earned three Grammy’s: Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for his work with the Traveling Wilburys in 1990; Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Male for “You Don’t Know How it Feels” in 1996; and Best Music Video, Long Form with the Heartbreakers in 2011.

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