Oklahoma City Thunder part-owner Aubrey McClendon died in a single-car crash in Oklahoma City on March 2. He was 56 years old.
According to the Associated Press, McClendon was the only person in the car when he slammed into a concrete bridge embankment shortly after 9 a.m. The car caught fire after hitting the embankment, and police believe that McClendon died immediately after the hit. Police are still investigating the crash and say that it’s too early to say if the crash was intentional.
"He pretty much drove straight into the wall," Oklahoma City Police Capt. Paco Balderrama said. "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. There was plenty of opportunity for him to correct and get back on the roadway and that didn't occur."
McClendon was the chairman and CEO of American Energy Partners. He also founded and was a former CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp., which holds the naming rights to the Thunder’s arena. He owned an estimated 20 percent of the Thunder and was part of the ownership group that relocated the team from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008.
McClendon’s death comes one day after he was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice. On March 1, McClendon was charged with conspiring to rig bids for the purchase of oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma. The indictment alleges that he "orchestrated a conspiracy between two large oil and gas companies to not bid against each other for the purchase of certain oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma,” from December 2007 to March 2012, according to ESPN. Every violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison each. Individuals can also be fined $1 million for each violation. McClendon denied the charges against him.
"The charge that has been filed against me today is wrong and unprecedented," McClendon said in a statement on March 1. "Anyone who knows me, my business record and the industry in which I have worked for 35 years, knows that I could not be guilty of violating any antitrust laws. All my life I have worked to create jobs in Oklahoma, grow its economy, and to provide abundant and affordable energy to all Americans. I am proud of my track record in this industry, and I will fight to prove my innocence and to clear my name."
McClendon’s death is the second death this year in the Thunder organization. Thunder assistant coach Monty William’s wife Ingrid died on Feb. 10 in a head-on crash in Oklahoma City.