Tito Jackson’s final moments have been revealed after his shock death at age 70.
The brother of pop sensation Michael Jackson passed away on September 15, 2024, after suffering a suspected heart attack.
Before he passed, The Jackson 5 lead guitarist was on a road trip with his friends Ronald Balfour and Terry Harvey Maltbia, traveling from Oklahoma to California.
Speaking to DailyMail.com Terry, who was Tito’s business associate and best friend, explained he and the singer were in Gallup, New Mexico, and had stopped for some food before getting back on the road to head back to the star’s ranch in Oklahoma.
Terry recalled how they had arrived in New Mexico around 6pm on Sunday and stopped near the American Heritage Plaza shopping center in Gallup to get some food before making the long drive back to Oklahoma.
The trio were “laughing and talking,” during the meal, as Terry explained: “We were putting the top on the convertible because it started raining.
“That’s when Tito came back on the passenger side window and said, ‘My chest is hurting. Can you help Ronnie to finish the [car] top?'”
Tito admitted: “I ain’t feeling good in my chest,” as Terry recalled: “He wiped his face off, took off his shirt and it was like someone had threw a bucket of water on him.”
Terry said he flagged officers who were nearby and Tito was then rushed to a local hospital.
When they arrived at the hospital Tito asked his friends to look for his insurance card in his bag but moments later, his condition took a turn for the worse.
While Terry “figured everything was going to be OK since we got him to the hospital and he was still talking,” a woman “came back out and said, ‘He’s not doing good.'”
Terry then recalled his confused state after learning his long-time pal was in a bad way.
“They took me back there and I looked at him,'” Terry said, as he relaid: “He had about seven doctors working on him and it got really bad. I called his brother, Marlon, and that’s when he died.”
The ABC singer’s remains are being held under the jurisdiction of the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator.
According to the publication, an autopsy has yet to be conducted while the Medical Examiner waits for Tito’s remains to be transported to Albuquerque, where the examination will be conducted.
Steve Manning, the Jackson family’s long-time friend and former manager, also confirmed the 70-year-old artist died of a heart attack to Entertainment Tonight.
