Aubrey McClendon, former CEO of Chesapeake Energy, was killed when the car he was driving rammed into a wall in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, a day after he was charged with rigging bids in order to buy leases for oil and natural gas in northwest Oklahoma. McClendon was 56 years old.
According to police, McClendon was driving his 2013 Chevy Tahoe along a two-lane road when his vehicle crashed into an embankment and burst into flames shortly afterward. The medical examiner is now determining the exact cause of death.
"The information out there at the scene is that he went left of center, went through a grassy area right before colliding into the embankment," Capt. Paco Balderrama of the Oklahoma City Police Department said.
"There was plenty of opportunity for him to correct and get back on the roadway and that didn't occur."
The fatal car crash happened about 24 hours after McClendon was indicted by the Justice Department for conspiring to fix prices for oil and gas properties while he was still head of Chesapeake Energy. McClendon had denied these charges.
Balderrama pointed out that it is still too early to tell whether the car crash was intentional. However, they discovered that McClendon was driving beyond 40 miles per hour while not wearing a seatbelt.
A Visionary In The Oil and Natural Gas Industry
Oklahoma state officials and business executives recognized the former Chesapeake Energy chief as a "visionary" in the industry who helped usher in a new era of energy abundance in the United States.
McClendon was able to do so by pushing for the development of hydraulic fracturing technology, which allowed businesses to harness the potential of oil and natural gas resources in the country for decades.
He also spent more than 20 years helping to transform Chesapeake Energy into one of the largest producers of natural gas in the world.
In 2013, McClendon stepped down as head of Chesapeake after issues in corporate governance arose and company investors expressed concerns about his heavy spending. He went on to found another natural gas company, American Energy Partners.
American Energy Partners said that McClendon's leadership and passion for the industry was able to impact the United States and the rest of the world, and that the company is proud of his legacy.
