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Tragic story of Segway boss who ended up dying while riding a Segway

Home> News> UK News

Updated 19:35 19 Feb 2024 GMTPublished 19:30 19 Feb 2024 GMT

Tragic story of Segway boss who ended up dying while riding a Segway

The boss of Segway tragically passed away after an accident involving one of his machines

Joshua Nair

Joshua Nair

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.

Mr Heselden, 62, was found in the River Wharfe at Boston Spa, near Wetherby, West Yorkshire, after accidentally plunging from a 30ft cliff in September 2010.
Andy Paraskos/PA Wire

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Originally made to help with flood control, it was taken onboard by the Ministry of Defence, who found it to be more effective than sandbags in combat.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.

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Segway was purchased by Jimi Heselden in 2009.
Getty Stock Photos

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.

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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.

Heselden was a businessman and philanthropist, building his way to the top.
Getty Stock Images

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."

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"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.

Featured Image Credit: Andy Paraskos/PA Wire

Topics: Business, Technology, UK News, News

Joshua Nair
Joshua Nair

Joshua Nair is a journalist at LADbible. Born in Malaysia and raised in Dubai, he has always been interested in writing about a range of subjects, from sports to trending pop culture news. After graduating from Oxford Brookes University with a BA in Media, Journalism and Publishing, he got a job freelance writing for SPORTbible while working in marketing before landing a full-time role at LADbible. Unfortunately, he's unhealthily obsessed with Manchester United, which takes its toll on his mental and physical health. Daily.

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@joshnair10

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