Investigation Into Aubrey McClendon Crash Finds High Speeds, No Health Emergency--5th Update
March 14 2016 - 2:55PM
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, said Bill Citty, chief of police. After
reaching top speed a few seconds before the crash, the Tahoe hit
the bridge at roughly 78 miles per hour.
The Oklahoma City medical examiner's office didn't find any
evidence of a health emergency with Mr. McClendon prior to his
accident in its preliminary investigation, Chief Citty said. He
would not speculate on whether Mr. McClendon committed suicide, and
said that the investigation is ongoing.
"You don't know, one, what was going on in his mind at that
point in time. You don't know what was going on in the cabin of the
vehicle," he said. "Anything is possible. You don't rule it out,
but we can't say it is, either."
Police are still in the process of checking Mr. McClendon's
cellphone records and talking to friends and associates about his
state of mind and activities on March 2, the day of the crash, and
the hours leading up to 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.
--Alison Sider contributed to this article
Write to Erin Ailworth at Erin.Ailworth@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 14, 2016 15:40 ET (19:40 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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