Accidental drug mix killed Gerald Levert

More details around the death of R&B singer Gerald Levert were released yesterday. According to an autopsy report, Levert died last fall from an accidental mix of prescription and over-the-counter drugs.Drugs found in Levert's bloodstream at the time of his death on November 10 included narcotic pain relievers Vicodin, Percocet and Darvocet; anxiety medication Xanax; and two over-the-counter antihistamines.Coroner Kevin Chartrand said his office received a report Thursday from the Cuyahoga County coroner's office, which conducted the autopsy. The official cause of death was acute intoxication, and the death was ruled accidental.The autopsy also revealed that Levert had pneumonia, he said. Andy Gibson, a family spokesman, said Levert lived with chronic pain from a lingering shoulder problem and surgery in 2005 to repair a severed Achilles tendon. "That was the main reason he was taking pain medication," Gibson said.He said Levert also took Xanax for anxiety attacks. The combination of drugs proved to be lethal and probably stopped Levert's breathing, Chartrand said.