Thunder Co-Owner Aubrey McClendon's Death Ruled Accidental

Aubrey McClendon, who was the co-owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder, died in a car crash on March 2, and the Oklahoma medical examiner’s office declared on Wednesday that it was an accident, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com).   

The office released an eight-page autopsy report that listed “multiple blunt force trauma as the cause of death,” according to the Associated Press. It also said McClendon had “traces of a drug in his system commonly used in sleep aids” but no alcohol.

The Associated Press noted that Wednesday’s report followed Tuesday’s statement from police that “said there wasn’t enough evidence to prove whether the crash was intentional.”

McClendon was 56 years old when he died in the crash that occurred one day after he “was indicted by a federal grand jury for bid rigging, leading to speculation of a possible suicide,” the Associated Press wrote.

Clifford Krauss of the New York Times reported on March 1 that the Justice Department charged McClendon, who was also the former CEO of Chesapeake Energy, with “conspiring to suppress prices paid for oil and natural gas leases.”

Royce Young of ESPN.com shared a picture of the aftermath of the crash on March 2:

McClendon made headlines in NBA circles as part of the Professional Basketball Club LLC that bought the Seattle SuperSonics and ultimately moved them to Oklahoma City before the 2008-09 campaign.

The Thunder have been in the playoffs six of the eight seasons since the move from Seattle and reached the Western Conference Finals this season, where they lost in seven games to the defending champion Golden State Warriors. The Thunder made the NBA Finals in the 2011-12 campaign but lost to the Miami Heat.