Heath Ledger died of accidental drug overdose
Article from: AAP
February 07, 2008 09:41am
HEATH Ledger's grieving family has issued a warning against mixing prescription drugs after US authorities found the actor died of an accidental overdose.
Medical authorities say the 28-year-old Australian film star died from an accidental overdose of six different drugs, prompting doctors to warn of the dangers of combining prescription drugs.
The Perth-born actor's father, Kim Ledger, added his voice to the warnings.
"While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy," he said in a statement.
"Heath's accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage."
Ledger died in his New York apartment "of acute intoxication" from the combination of two strong painkillers, two anti-anxiety medicines and two sleeping aids, according to the medical examiner's office.
Among the drugs found in his body were oxycodone, a painkiller sold as OxyContin and used in other pain relievers such as Percodan and Percocet.
Others included drugs sold as anti-anxiety pills Valium and Xanax, which are sedatives.
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