Aubrey McClendon, a founder and former chief executive of Chesapeake Energy who was indicted on Tuesday, died in a single-car crash in Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
Police in Oklahoma City said McClendon, who was 56 and owned a 20 percent stake in the Oklahoma City Thunder, "drove straight into a wall" at a high rate of speed, crossing a grassy area and accelerating instead of correcting the path of the vehicle.
Oklahoma City Police Capt. Paco Balderrama would not call the accident intentional. The vehicle was engulfed in flames, but McClendon likely died on impact, Balderrama said.
The incident took place Wednesday less than 24 hours after McClendon was charged with conspiring to accept illegal bids for the purchase of oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma. McClendon was part of the ownership group that convinced Clay Bennett to bring the Thunder to Oklahoma City from Seattle.
He was the former CEO of Chesapeake Energy, the company that owns the naming rights to the Thunder's arena in downtown Oklahoma City, but left to start a new energy company.
If convicted of violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act, McClendon faced 10 years in prison and $1 million restitution for each offense.
The formal indictment alleges a conspiracy ran from December 2007 to March 2012. Conspirators would decide ahead of time who would win bids and that winner allocating an interest in the leases to the other company.
