An insider tells PEOPLE that on May 4th – just two weeks before Chris Cornell’s death – the late Soundgarden frontman pushed his flight from Atlanta, Georgia, back a day over safety concerns about flying in inclement weather.
The next week, on May 9th, Cornell made a similar choice after hearing his flight from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was delayed due to mechanical issues. The source says that Cornell was nervous to fly due to potential plane issues, and instead drove a rental car over seven and a half hours to his intended destination.
“Clearly someone who was so hesitant and fearful to fly in these situations valued their life,” says the source. “These are not indications of someone with no regard to their well-being.”
The family source notes that even during Cornell’s “darkest days” of drug abuse – when he admitted himself into Promises treatment center in Malibu in 2002 – he did not “reveal suicidal tendencies.”
“Nor did he show any signs of depression in the final days leading up to his passing,” adds the insider.
“Many of us who know Chris well, noticed that he wasn’t himself during his final hours and that something was very off,” wife Vicky Karayiannis Cornell said in an earlier statement to PEOPLE.
“We have learned from this report that several substances were found in his system. After so many years of sobriety, this moment of terrible judgement seems to have completely impaired and altered his state of mind. Something clearly went terribly wrong and my children and I are heartbroken and are devastated that this moment can never be taken back.”
She added, “We very much appreciate all of the love we have received during this extremely difficult time and are dedicated to helping others in preventing this type of tragedy.”
