Segway company owner James 'Jimi' Heselden dies in England after riding a Segway off cliff
Paraskos/AP Jimi Heselden, chairman of Hesco Bastion, which bought the Segway company last year, died in a freak accident during which he rode a Segway off a cliff.
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The British businessman who owns the Segway company plunged to his death after driving one of his famous two-wheeled scooters off a cliff, police said Monday.
James (Jimi) Heselden, who was using an off-road version of the iconic ride to inspect the grounds of his estate in northern England, tumbled 30 feet and was fished out of a river shortly after the freak accident Sunday.
"Officers were called to the incident around 11:40 a.m. following a call from a member of the public," the West Yorkshire police said in a statement.
They found Heselden, 62, lying near one of his battery-powered scooters.
While police said Heselden's death was "not believed to be suspicious," his demise came as doctors in a study that's about to be published in the Annals of Internal Medicine warned that Segway-related accidents are on the rise.
Heselden bought the Bedford, N.H.-based Segway last year, but he could only ride the device on his property because the Brits don't allow them on the roads for safety reasons.
Segway was forced to recall all its U.S. vehicles in 2006 because of a software problem that could cause its wheels to suddenly reverse direction.
The Segway famously threw President George W. Bush and TV host Piers Morgan when they tried to take it out for a spin.
Heselden, who began working in a coal mine at age 15, became one of Britain's richest men, with a $265 million fortune, after he was laid off from his job.
Using his severance pay, Heselden started a company called Hesco Bastions and raked in defense contracts building blast walls to help protect troops in Iraq and Afghanistan from suicide bombers.
A variation of his "Concertainer" was used in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to control erosion in Louisiana.
Heselden never forgot where he came from and donated more than $15 million to help other laidoff miners and their families near his hometown of Leeds. He also gave generously to organizations helping wounded British soldiers.
NYPD cops used to buzz around boardwalks and parks on a small fleet of 11 Segways. But the department now uses something it considers more reliable, T3 Transporters.
The NYPD has 13 of the all-electric three-wheelers, which go up to 25 mph.
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File photo of a Segway PT – Heselden acquired the company in 2010
The British millionaire businessman and owner of , the manufacturer of ,  , has died after apparently crashing one of the company's electric scooters over a cliff in West Yorkshire, England. He was 62 years old. Heselden, who was pronounced dead at the scene, is thought to have crashed his scooter into the  while riding around his estate. 

A spokeswoman from  released a statement confirming Heselden's death. She said "Police were called at 1140 yesterday to reports of a man in the River Wharfe, apparently having fallen from the cliffs above." She added that a "Segway type" vehicle had been recovered from the water.

After working in the mines after leaving school, he founded  after being made redundant in the 1980s. He acquired Segway PT in 2010 with Hesco Bastion. A spokesperson for the company said: "It is with great sadness that we have to confirm that Jimi Heselden OBE, has died in a tragic accident near his home in West Yorkshire. Jimi is perhaps best known for his charity work with Help for Heroes and the Leeds Community Foundation. A £10m gift to the foundation earlier this month saw his lifetime charitable donations top £23m. Our thoughts go out to his family and many friends, who have asked for privacy at this time."