Oklahoma medical examiner rules oilman
McClendon's deadly crash an accident
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[June 09, 2016]
By Heide Brandes
OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - The fiery crash
that killed U.S. oilman Aubrey McClendon in March after his car hit a
wall was an accident, Oklahoma's medical examiner said on Wednesday,
echoing a police inquiry's findings a day earlier that there was no
evidence of suicide.
The examiner said he died of "multiple blunt force trauma" and his
corpse suffered "extensive thermal burns and charring" after his
Chevy Tahoe slammed into a concrete bridge abutment on March 2.
The crash happened a day after federal prosecutors indicted him for
violating anti-trust laws by rigging bids for oil lands.
McClendon, a pioneer of the U.S. fracking boom who failed to show up
at a dinner with friends the night of the indictment, denied the
charges.
Toxicology tests showed there was no alcohol in his blood at the
time of the accident.
The report said doxylamine, an antihistamine that causes drowsiness
and can be used as a sleep aid, was detected but not confirmed in
his liver.
The force of the crash fractured his ribs, bones in his arms and
legs, and his pelvis, causing acute hemorrhaging, the report said.
Details of the crash, in which his vehicle was driving well above
the speed limit at 88 miles per hour (142 kph), stunned the U.S.
energy industry.
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File photo of Aubrey McClendon walking through the French Quarter in
New Orleans, Louisiana March 26, 2012. REUTERS/Sean Gardner
Many executives worried McClendon, who was ousted in 2013 as CEO of
Chesapeake Energy <CHK.N> after a shareholder revolt, had committed
suicide.
On Tuesday, Oklahoma City police said they found no emails or notes
to suggest he was contemplating ending his life, but acknowledged
his state of mind at the time of the crash was unknowable.
(Reporting By Heide Brandes; Editing by David Gregorio and Alan
Crosby)
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