Tragic story of Segway boss who ended up dying while riding a Segway
The owner of the Segway company tragically passed away in an accident that involved one of his products.
Jimi Heselden was 62-years-old when the accident took place, having only recently bought the company at the time.
Heselden had a fortune worth £166 million at the time of his death, ranking among the top 400 richest people in the UK.
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He made his fortune through his company Hesco Bastion Ltd after being made redundant from his mining job in the mid-1980s.
With his knowledge of geology and soil science, through his company, he manufactured the 'concertainer', a modernisation of the medieval defence system, gabions.
The concertainer was made of large, prefabricated portable wire cages which are flat-packed, meaning they can be put together anywhere, quickly using sandbags.
Originally made to help with flood control, it was taken onboard by the Ministry of Defence, who found it to be more effective than sandbags in combat.
Since the 1991 Gulf War, they have become a mainstay for Nato, US and UK forces as the Pentagon bought more than £53 million of the products from 1998-2003.
With this fortune, Heselden became a philanthropist as well as a businessman, going on to donate more than £20 million to charitable causes.
On Christmas Day 2009, he purchased American company Segway.
Segways are electric two-wheeled, self-balancing machines, having been introduced in 2001.
Just nine months after the takeover, Heselden was testing a cross-country version of the Segway while walking his dog near Thorp Arch, reportedly letting another dog-walker get by, when he accidentally skidded off a cliff down a 30ft drop.
He died after 'multiple blunt force injuries of the chest and spine consistent with a fall whilst riding a gyrobike', according to a police report.
Following his death, a family spokesman said: "Our family has been left devastated by the sudden and tragic loss of a much-loved father and husband."
His estate was passed to his family, having a worth upwards of £340 million.
Shortly after, a spokesman for Hesco Bastion stated: "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."
Chief executive of Leeds City Council at the time, Tom Riordan, also called Heselden an 'amazing man' who was 'selfless and generous' as he donated millions to local charity to support people in his home city of Leeds.
Topics: Business, Technology, UK News, News
Joshua Nair