Lindbergh died at age 26 in a single-car accident five months after leading the Flyers to the 1985 Stanley Cup Finals and winning the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender.

In his final game on 7 November 1985, he made 18 saves while leading the Philadelphia Flyers to a 6–2 win over the Chicago Black Hawks.

His parents gave permission to end life-saving measures, and at 9:15 a.m. on 11 November, he was declared legally dead after all brain function had ceased.

[2][4] At the time of the accident, he had just left the Coliseum, the former practice center for the Flyers located in Voorhees Township, New Jersey, where he was attending a team party.

Swedish author Thomas Tynander wrote a biography, Pelle Lindbergh: bakom den vita masken, published in 2006.