The story seems to indicate that the 82 year old pilot’s wife was also a pilot. If she was sitting in the right seat, she certainly could have handled the plane if the pilot suffered some sort of medical problem. I’m gong to guess it was either mechanical or weather related.
The wx was nice, so scratch that. I’d presume that the wife was in the back seat. The back seat of those planes is very small. Not suitable for big guys... Which is the strange part of the story. The early Cherokees are very basic/entry level planes. Cheap and Slow. Usually used for primary training or owned by folks that can barely afford to own a plane in the first place. Odd choice of plane for sending a head basketball coach out on a recruiting trip. My wife, for example, would pretty much refuse to do any kind of cross country in one.