Aubrey McClendon Dead: Ex-Chesapeake Energy CEO Dies in Oklahoma Car Crash

Ex-Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon was killed in a car crash on March 2, one day after he was accused of fixing bids for oil and gas leases.

Aubrey McClendon, 56, was the only person in the vehicle when it smashed into a concrete pillar in Oklahoma, police reported.

He was charged on March 1 with conspiring with two energy companies to rig the price of oil and gas contracts.

Aubrey McClendon, who stepped down from Chesapeake in 2013, denied the charges.

In a statement on March 1, Aubrey McClendon said: “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.”

Police are still investigating the cause of the accident, but said the car was burned so badly it was difficult to tell if Aubrey McClendon was wearing a seatbelt.

A spokesperson for the Oklahoma City police did say he “drove straight into the wall”.

On March 1, the Department of Justice accused Aubrey McClendon of having been involved in an anti-trust scheme between 2007 and 2012.

The scheme involved two companies – which the DoJ did not name – deciding who would have the winning bid for oil and gas lessees ahead of the offer and then splitting the contract after it was awarded.

Aubrey McClendon stepped down as the head of Chesapeake Energy in 2013 amid concerns about his heavy spending and a shakeup in the company’s corporate governance.

He is considered one of the fathers of the US fracking industry.

Aubrey McClendon went on to found American Energy Partners where he served as chairman and chief executive. He was also a partial owner of the basketball team the Oklahoma City Thunder.