*Tito Jackson passed away after experiencing a medical emergency while driving from New Mexico to Oklahoma on Sunday.
Page Six reports that a passerby noticed Jackson in distress and alerted police near the American Heritage Plaza shopping center. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance but was pronounced dead later that day. Jackson’s former manager, Steve Manning, stated that the musician likely suffered a heart attack.
We reported earlier that an official cause of death has yet to be confirmed. According to Page Six, a formal investigation is still ongoing.
Jackson’s sons — TJ, Taj and Taryll — announced his passing in a statement on their band 3T’s Instagram account.
“It’s with heavy hearts that we announce that our beloved father, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Tito Jackson is no longer with us,” they wrote. “We are shocked, saddened and heartbroken.”
The brothers added, “Some of you may know him as Tito Jackson from the legendary Jackson 5, some may know him as ‘Coach Tito’ or some know him as ‘Poppa T,’” they continued. “Nevertheless, he will be missed tremendously.”
Jackson was a founding member of the Jackson 5, who were nominated for two Grammys and inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. The group was managed by their father, Joe Jackson, who died at age 89 in 2018.
Their brother Michael Jackson died at age 50 in 2009. In a December 2009 interview with The Associated Press, Tito said Michael’s death brought the family closer together, CBS News reports.
“I would say definitely it brought us a step closer to each other. To recognize that the love we have for each other when one of us is not here, what a great loss,” he said.
READ MORE FROM EURWBE.COM: Legendary Musician Tito Jackson (The Jacksons 5/The Jacksons) Passes Away at 70 | VIDEO
