OKLAHOMA CITY – Police officers confirm that a man killed in a car accident early Wednesday morning is the former CEO of Chesapeake Aubrey McClendon
On Wednesday, firefighters were called to a car accident on Midwest Blvd., between Memorial and 122nd St.
Officials say one person died at the scene when the vehicle hit a bridge in the area.
Officials with the Oklahoma City Police Department held a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, confirming the fatality is McClendon.
The accident occurred less than 24 hours after McClendon was indicted by a federal grand jury.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced that Aubrey McClendon was charged with conspiring to rig bids for the purchase of oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma.
The indictment claims that McClendon orchestrated a conspiracy between two large oil and gas companies to not bid against each other for oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma.
The conspiracy allegedly ran from December 2007 to March 2012, during which time he was CEO of Chesapeake Energy.
McClendon released the following statement on Tuesday, regarding the indictment:
“The charge that has been filed against me today is wrong and unprecedented. I have been singled out as the only person in the oil and gas industry in over 110 years since the Sherman Act became law to have been accused of this crime in relation to joint bidding on leasehold. 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.” – Aubrey McClendon
McClendon, 56, retired from Chesapeake in 2013 and became the CEO of American Energy Partners.
McClendon was also a partial owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder.