Millionaire and Segway owner Jimi Heselden dies after driving off cliff
September 28th, 2010 - 12:09 am ICT by BNO NewsLEEDS, ENGLAND (BNO NEWS) — British millionaire Jimi Heselden, Chairman of Hesco Bastion Ltd. and owner of upright scooter manufacturer Segway, was found dead on Sunday after driving off a cliff on one of his scooters, police said Monday.
Heselden, 62, who became one of England’s wealthiest men despite dropping out of school at age 15, is believed to have lost control of one of his all-terrain machines, driving off a cliff, and plunging around 80 feet into the River Wharfe near his Boston Spa home, outside Wetherby, West Yorkshire on Sunday morning.
Heselden was able to buy Segway - started by U.S. inventor Dean Kamen in 1999 - last December and make his 166-million-pound (263.16 million dollars) fortune by developing a “blast wall” blanket, which is used to protect soldier in the Iraqi and Afghan wars.
Hesco Bastion, headquartered in Leeds, England, invented the “blast wall” blanket to replace the traditional sandbags used in trenches, battle zones, and in flood protection efforts. The U.S. government in the 1990s purchased nearly $84 million-worth of these blankets.
“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,” Heselden’s company said.
“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.”
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Tags: bastion, bno, boston spa, charitable donations, charity work, community foundation, dropping out of school, flood protection efforts, inventor dean kamen, leeds community, leeds england, obe, river wharfe, sandbags, scooter manufacturer, segway, tragic accident, wealthiest men, west yorkshire, wetherby