Jeff Conaway's death ruled accidental with multiple causes
(CBS) "Grease" and "Taxi" actor Jeff Conaway's death has been ruled accidental, with multiple causes including a major internal infection.
The numerous causes of death included septic emboli, aortic valve endocarditis, coronary artery disease, pneumonia, and encephalopathy, a brain disorder resulting from numerous drug overdoses. Before his death, he was diagnosed by doctors with pneumonia and sepsis, a potentially fatal blood poisoning caused by bacterial infection.
The 60-year-old actor passed away on May 27, but had been in a coma since May 10. Conaway was found unconscious in his Los Angeles home and was rushed to Encino Hospital Medical Center. His family made the decision to take the actor off life support.
Conaway's spokesperson said doctors found a mixture of painkillers and cold medicine in the actor's system when he was admitted to the hospital. The Los Angeles County Coroner's office did not test for drugs because the results would have come back clean since he had been hospitalized for quite some time.
Conaway had been featured on the first season of VH1's "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew." He revealed that he was addicted to cocaine, alcohol, and painkillers due to an accident during the "Greased Lightning" scene in the movie "Grease," as well as some additional injury caused by moving boxes in his home.
"Jeff was a severe, severe opiate addict with chronic pain, one of the most serious and dangerous combination of problems you could possibly interact with," Dr. Drew Pinsky said to news channel HLN.
