Post date: Sep 27, 2010 7:31:2 PM
The owner of the firm Segway was found dead at the bottom of a cliff after a freak accident on Sunday.
HESCO HANDOUT - The British millionaire businessman who owns the firm Segway has been found dead at the bottom of a cliff with one of the two-wheeled electric scooters near his body, police said on Monday (September 27).
Jimi Heselden, 62, who bought the U.S.-based firm, and who was also chairman of Hesco Bastion, was discovered in a river near Leeds, northern England, on Sunday (September 26).
The incident, described as a freak accident in the media, was not being treated as suspicious. A Segway was found near his body, a police spokeswoman said.
"It is with great sadness that we have to confirm that Jimi Heselden has died in a tragic accident near his home in West Yorkshire," Hesco Bastion said in a statement.
A family spokesman said speculation about the cause of his death had been deeply upsetting.
"There is absolutely nothing to suggest it was anything other than a tragic accident," he said in a statement.
Residents on the Halton Moor estate where Heselden grew up and which supplied many workers for Hesco Bastion were drawn from, paid tribute to one of their own.
"Well I'll imagine there'll be a hell a lot of people be gutted (very upset), he did well for hisself but he also looked after the people on the estate. He also looked after his workforce that are mostly employed off the Halton Moor and the surrounding area," said one resident.
"I don't think there's anybody on this estate can say a bad word about Jimi Heselden," said another.
Invented by Dean Kamen, the self-balancing Segway scooter was made famous by then U.S. President George W. Bush when he took one for a spin, only to jump off after losing control.
Heselden, a former miner who left school at the age of 15, became a wealthy businessman, donating millions of pounds to charity. This month, he gave 10 million pounds ($16 million) to a community project which helps disadvantaged areas.
He made his fortune with Leeds-based Hesco Bastion, which developed a flat-pack wire mesh "blast wall" container, replacing the traditional sandbags, used by British and coalition troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Media reports said Heselden was one of Britain's richest men, with a fortune put at 166 million pounds ($260 million).