Prince 911 Caller Talks 'Tragedy,' Drug Addiction

A day after an autopsy report confirmed that Prince died of an accidental opioid overdose, Andrew Kornfeld, the man who placed the tragic 911 call from Paisley Park April 21st and the son of a physician tasked at the last minute with helping the singer combat his addiction, has opened up about the incident in a CNN op-ed.

"As I told the 911 dispatcher on April 21, those on the scene were distraught, which was why I was the one to place the call," Kornfeld wrote. "But what happened has made me think, long and hard, about what steps we must take to prevent such entirely unnecessary loss of life."

On Thursday, the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that Prince suffered an accidental overdose from the opioid Fentanyl, a narcotic used to treat severe pain. Kornfeld, the son of addiction specialist Howard Kornfeld, MD then detailed his own struggles with unimaginable pain as a result of his fight with Crohn's Disease, noting that he could relate to what Prince dealt with and why the artist felt like he needed constant medication.

"His death was a tragedy beyond words. He was an inspiration to so many, and in the brief time I spent in Minnesota, I saw just how good a friend he was to those closest to him," Kornfeld wrote. "In the weeks that have passed since April 21, I have thought about what might have produced a different outcome. What if his troubles could have been addressed effectively, and much sooner?"

Kornfeld goes on to discuss buprenorphine, a treatment that helps opioid users curb their dependency from the powerful painkillers. "Unfortunately, the timely care Prince may have needed, based on the medical examiner's report, has been difficult to obtain in Minnesota, and in many states in our nation," Kornfeld wrote.

Read the full piece at CNN.

Prince's cause of death has been revealed as an opioid overdose after weeks of speculation.