Investigation Into Aubrey McClendon Crash Finds High Speeds, No Health Emergency--4th Update
March 14 2016 - 3:48PM
Dow Jones News
By Erin Ailworth
U.S. shale pioneer Aubrey McClendon hit speeds of 89 miles an
hour just before his Chevy Tahoe slammed into a concrete bridge
earlier this month in a fatal crash, according to a report issued
Monday afternoon by the Oklahoma City Police Dept.
Mr. McClendon's SUV, which was fitted to run on compressed
natural gas instead of gasoline, crossed the centerline more than
60 yards before the crash. He wasn't wearing a seat belt, the
Oklahoma City Police said.
Data recovered from the vehicle's black box showed that Mr.
McClendon tapped his brakes several times before the crash, but
didn't truly brake, police said. His Tahoe hit a concrete
embankment at roughly 78 miles an hour.
The Oklahoma City medical examiner's office didn't find any
evidence of a health emergency with Mr. McClendon before his
accident, said Bill Citty, police chief for the department. He
wouldn't speculate on whether Mr. McClendon committed suicide, and
said the police investigation is ongoing.
Police are in the process of checking cellphone records for Mr.
McClendon and talking to friends and associates about his state of
mind and activities on March 2, the day of the crash, and before
the accident.
Several of Mr. McClendon's friends and business associates told
The Wall Street Journal that he was known to multitask in the car,
often talking on his cellphone.
The two-lane road leading up to the crash site--a straight but
hilly stretch with narrow lanes running in both directions--gets
little traffic, said Oklahoma Police Department Capt. Paco
Balderrama.
Mr. McClendon was traveling well in excess of the posted speed
limit of 50 miles an hour, according to the police report.
A swath of scorched earth littered with broken glass and other
charred bits pinpoints where Mr. McClendon's SUV hit the underpass
head on and quickly burst into flames, sending smoke billowing
toward motorists on the Kilpatrick Turnpike overhead.
"The cab is completely crushed," a man who called 911 after the
crash told a police dispatcher. "There's fire, there's fire."
By the time emergency responders arrived, Mr. McClendon's Tahoe
was completely engulfed in flames, Capt. Balderamma said.
Investigators were able to identify Mr. McClendon as the driver
after receiving a call from his security detail, which employed
several retired city police officers.
"It didn't take long for one of his guys to call us and say,
'Hey, Aubrey is missing,'" Capt. Balderrama said.
The day before he died, Mr. McClendon was indicted on a federal
antitrust charge after a lengthy U.S. Justice Department
investigation. The former chief executive of Chesapeake Energy
Corp. was accused of conspiring with a second company to rig bids
for the price of oil-and-gas leases between 2007 and 2012.
Mr. McClendon adamantly denied the charge.
"I am proud of my track record in this industry, and I will
fight to prove my innocence and clear my name," he said in a
statement through his attorney on the night the indictment was
announced.
Mr. McClendon was in his Oklahoma City office early the next
morning, strategizing how to do just that, according to a person
familiar with the matter.
He left the office and at the time of the crash appeared to be
driving back roads north and west through Oklahoma City toward
Arcadia, where he owned a tree farm and a soda fountain.
Write to Erin Ailworth at Erin.Ailworth@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 14, 2016 15:33 ET (19:33 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024