Brittany Murphy's death "possibly" could have been prevented, a Los Angeles coroner official tells UsMagazine.com.
"Had someone said, 'You are going [to the doctor] and thrown her in the car, she might be alive today," Assistant Chief Ed Winter tells Us.
Murphy – who was found dead Dec. 20 at the age of 32 – died of pneumonia "exacerbated" by multiple drug intoxication. The actress, who weighed 115 lbs. at the time of her death, also suffered from iron deficiency and anemia.
"She was a sick young lady," Winter tells Us. "She and her mother talked, and she decided to get a doctor's appointment. She passed away about three or four days before her doctor's appointment."
Murphy's mother and husband Simon Monjack "had been sick with cold and flu- like symptoms about a week or two before. I think [Murphy] thought she had the same thing and [thought], 'I'll be fine,'" says Winter.
The specific drugs found in Murphy's system will be revealed in a toxicology report in a couple weeks, but Winter tells Us the actress had "prescription drugs and some over the counter meds. Nothing illegal."
