Authorities in Colombia have released preliminary information from their investigation into Taylor Hawkins’ death.
The shocking news of the longtime Foo Fighters drummer’s passing at age 50 was announced Friday night (March 25) in a social media statement published on the band’s accounts.
Although Hawkins’ cause of death has not been confirmed, the Attorney General’s Office of Colombia on Saturday evening (March 26) reported an update that a urine toxicology test had found traces of 10 types of substances in his system, including THC (marijuana), tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines and opioids.
The office noted that the National Institute of Forensic Medicine will continue its medical inquiry to come to “total clarification of the events that led to the death of Taylor Hawkins.”
The Office of the Attorney General will report any further results, the statement said.
Foo Fighters were scheduled to perform Friday night in Bogotá as part of Festival Estéreo Picnic, but the well-loved performer, who had been with the band since 1997, was found dead in his hotel room.
On Saturday, the Bogotá mayor’s office issued a press release that said the emergency center received a call Friday night about a patient with “chest pains” in a hotel located in the northern part of the city. An ambulance was sent out, and upon arrival the medical staff encountered a team from a private ambulance service. Health workers attempted to revive Hawkins with CPR, but they were unable to do so and he was declared dead.
Throughout the weekend, Hawkins’ friends and musical peers mourned his death and paid tribute to him, celebrating his “spirit and unstoppable rock power,” as Tom Morello put it. Miley Cyrus dedicated her Saturday night performance in Brazil to Hawkins, “the most bad ass dude I know who would want me to shine and sing LOUD for the love of rock n roll.”
#ATENCIÓN | Comunicado oficial de la #Fiscalía General de la Nación sobre la muerte del ciudadano extranjero Taylor Hawkins, baterista de la banda Foo Fighters. pic.twitter.com/K3Z7Ss9wcO
— Fiscalía Colombia (@FiscaliaCol) March 26, 2022
