He drove straight into the bridge: Suicide probe after disgraced energy CEO and NBA team owner dies in fiery crash two hours before he was due to hand himself in on charges of market rigging

Former Chesapeake Energy Corp CEO Aubrey McClendon has died in a car crash less than 24 hours after being indicted on conspiracy charges

Aubrey McLendon, the former Chesapeake Energy Corp CEO, has died in a car crash less than 24 hours after being indicted on conspiracy charges.

The crash happened on Wednesday morning around 9am in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma when the 56-year-old's car struck an overpass bridge. 

'He pretty much drove straight into the wall,' said Capt. Paco Balderrama at a press conference. 'The information out there at the scene is that he went left of center, went through a grassy area right before colliding into the embankment.

'There was plenty of opportunity for him to correct and get back on the roadway and that didn't occur'. 

He added that McClendon was not wearing a seat belt and was driving his 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe well over the 50mph speed limit before it was 'engulfed in flames immediately'.

Police would not say whether the death was a suicide or not yet. The crash remains under investigation and authorities say it will be at least two weeks until more information is released but he added at this point it appeared 'pretty cut and dry' as to what had happened.

Balderamma says it is 'possible' that McClendon could have suffered some sort of medical event. 

He was supposed to turn himself into jail at 11am. 

McClendon, who was dubbed 'America's Most Reckless Billionaire' by Forbes, is survived by his wife Katie - a Whirlpool heiress and relative of the model Kate Upton - and their three adult children Jack, Callie and Will. 

He was a part owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder where he could frequently be seen courtside during games, and the great-nephew of former Oklahoma governor and U.S. Senator Robert Kerr. 

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'Engulfed in flames': The 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe of Aubrey McClendon erupted in a fireball after he drove it straight into a wall. He was supposed to turn himself into jail just hours later

Up in smoke: Authorities said that although they had not determined what happened exactly, it appeared 'pretty cut and dry'

'He pretty much drove straight into the wall' at a 'high rate of speed,' Oklahoma City Police Capt Paco Balerrama said, adding he was going well above the 50mph limit

The incident happened early on Wednesday morning in Oklahoma City; it has not been confirmed yet whether or not his death was a suicide and police said they would investigate further

Authorities stopped short of labeling McClendon's death a suicide, adding that it was possible he suffered from some sort of medical event

He founded Chesapeake Energy with business partner Tom Ward in 1989 when he was 29 years old turning it from a tiny company into the second-biggest gas producer in the US behind only Exxon Mobil. He was forced to leave the company under a cloud in 2013 however amid a shareholder revolt over concerns he mixed personal dealings with company operations.

McClendon was charged on Tuesday with conspiring to rig bids to buy oil and natural gas leases in the state.

Clayton Bennett, the chairman of the Oklahoma Thunder said: 'I am overcome with grief. Aubrey McClendon was a visionary community leader, a trusted business partner and a passionate member of the Thunder family. But more than anything, he was a brother and a dear friend.

'His love of his community and his desire to make Oklahoma a better place will forever inspire all of us. Louise and I offer our love and prayers to Katie and the McClendon family.' 

Carl Icahn, the largest Chesapeake shareholder, said he was 'saddened' to hear of McClendon's death.

McClendon was a part owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Pictured above attending a game in 2012 with his wife Katie, who is a relative of Kate Upton 

'Aubrey McClendon was one of the brightest men I've ever dealt with. I personally always found him to be a gentleman in our interactions,' he wrote on Twitter.

Jim Cramer, of CNBC, said McClendon was a 'character' and a 'visionary' who 'made mistakes'.

'He had tremendous ideas about what our country was going to do to be energy independent. He loved that,' Cramer told CNBC. 

The indictment follows a nearly four-year federal antitrust probe that began after a 2012 Reuters investigation found that Chesapeake had discussed with a rival how to suppress land lease prices in Michigan during a shale-drilling boom. 

Although the Michigan case was subsequently closed, investigators uncovered evidence of alleged bid-rigging in Oklahoma. 

In addition to the federal probe, the Michigan attorney general brought criminal charges against Chesapeake, which the company settled in 2015 by agreeing to pay $25 million into a compensation fund for land owners.  

McClendon was a shale drilling evangelist who was once among the highest paid U.S. CEOs. He co-founded Chesapeake with fellow Oklahoma oilman Tom Ward in 1989. In 2013, McClendon stepped down from the helm of Chesapeake amid a liquidity crunch and corporate governance concerns. Ward left Chesapeake in 2006 and founded competitor SandRidge Energy Inc the same year.

McClendon, who was with American Energy Partners (AEP) at the time of his death, was charged with one count of conspiracy to rig bids, a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Justice Department said. 

In a statement released after his indictment, McClendon said: 'The charge that has been filed against me today is wrong and unprecedented.

'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.'

hesapeake itself is unlikely to face criminal prosecution, the company said.

'Chesapeake has been actively cooperating for some time with a criminal antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice regarding past land leasing practices,' said Chesapeake Energy spokesman Gordon Pennoyer. 'Chesapeake does not expect to face criminal prosecution or fines relating to this matter.'

Chesapeake shares declined 3.6 percent in after-hours trading to $2.66

The seven-page indictment alleges that McClendon set up a conspiracy of two energy companies which agreed not to bid against each other in purchasing oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma from 2007 to 2012. The indictment did not name either company.

McClendon, pictured center, co-owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder, cheers along with his wife during Game 1 of the NBA basketball finals against the Miami Heat in Oklahoma 

Family man: Aubrey McClendon pictured center with his son Will, right, and wife Katie 

The couple had two other children together, daughter Callie, left, and son Jack, right 

The indictment comes at a time when energy executives across America are already facing considerable distress. Oil and gas companies like Chesapeake, SandRidge, and McClendon's new venture AEP, have struggled as the price of oil plummeted by 70 percent since late 2014.

Both Chesapeake and SandRidge, once storied firms in Oklahoma's oil industry, have recently engaged restructuring experts as they scramble to pay off billions in debt and avoid potential bankruptcy. Chesapeake's stock price has tumbled more than 80 percent in the last year. SandRidge was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in January, and closed Tuesday at 4 cents per share. 

Much of the companies' debt was accrued in the period from 2007 through 2012 when McClendon was allegedly engaged in an antitrust conspiracy, a time when Chesapeake was snapping up millions of acres of land leases nationwide to expand its shale drilling.

McClendon was also embroiled in a lawsuit with Chesapeake which alleged that he took sensitive company data from his former company to build his new business.

The Justice Department said that McClendon's indictment was the first case in an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anti-competitive conduct in the oil and natural gas industry.

'His actions put company profits ahead of the interests of leaseholders entitled to competitive bids for oil and gas rights on their land. Executives who abuse their positions as leaders of major corporations to organize criminal activity must be held accountable for their actions,' said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer, head of Justice Department's Antitrust Division.

Chesapeake, SandRidge, and McClendon had previously disclosed in securities filings that they were being investigated by the Justice Department's Antitrust Division. 

In a bizarre coincidence, McClendon's death is the second fatal crash this year connected to the Thunder basketball team. The wife of Assistant coach Monty Williams, Ingrid, died on February after she was involved in a crash in Oklahoma City. 

• For confidential help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or click here

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