Peninsula Daily News news sources
A wealthy British businessman who owns the company that makes the two-wheeled Segway — the type of scooter purchased by Port Angeles donors for a police officer’s use downtown — has been found dead in a river in northern England after apparently falling off a cliff on one of the vehicles, police said Monday.
The body of 62-year-old Jimi Heselden and a Segway personal transporter were found in the River Wharfe and he was pronounced dead at the scene, West Yorkshire Police said.
A witness had reported seeing a man fall Sunday over a 30-foot (9-meter) drop into the river near the village of Boston Spa, 140 miles north of London.
“The incident is not believed to be suspicious,” police said, indicating that they do not believe anyone else was involved.
Heselden, who bought control of the Bedford, N.H.-based Segway company in December, made his fortune through his firm Hesco Bastion Ltd., which developed a successful blast wall system that replaced the sand bags once used to protect troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hesco Bastion confirmed that Heselden “died in a tragic accident near his home in West Yorkshire.”
Police have not revealed further details about the incident. A dozen members of Heselden’s family asked for privacy today after placing flowers at the heavily wooded accident site, which is popular with hikers and nature lovers.
The battery-powered Segway, which is stabilized by gyroscopes, was invented by Dean Kamen, who founded the company in 1999. Kamen was traveling today and could not be immediately reached for comment.
Donations from Port Angeles downtown merchants and other community members purchased a police-outfitted Segway personal transporter for the downtown officer in 2008. Here’s the report on its arrival in 2008: https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008810010309
