Jay BennettAfter former Wilco member Jay Bennett was found dead in his home, an Illinois coroner determined the multi-instrumentalist died of an accidental overdose of painkillers, according to media reports.

Tests show that a drug that is prescribed to treat chronic pain, fentanyl, is what Bennett died from. The coroner’s office is investigating the death as an accident, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Just a month before his death, Bennett put up a post on his MySpace page and mentioned the pain he suffered continuously from a hip injury.

Bennett wrote, “A decade-plus of multiple nightly stage jumps and various other rock’n'roll theatrics had finally taken a toll that I could no longer deal with.”

In 2008, a division of Johnson & Johnson called PriCara recalled fentanyl patches after finding out some could leak and in turn lead to a potential overdose, according to reports from “The Tribune.”

Bennett was a songwriter, musician and engineer for alternative rock band Wilco from the mid 90’s until the release of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” in 2002.






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