All police found at the bottom of a cliff was a man's body in a frigid river and a Segway, the two-wheeled electric device that was supposed to revolutionize personal transport. It was Jimi Heselden, a one-time laid-off coal miner turned self-made millionaire who had bought the Segway company only 10 months earlier. He apparently fell to his death while riding one of the sleek black-and-silver scooters. Authorities said Monday his body was found in the River Wharfe at the base of a 30-foot (nine-meter) cliff. Details remained sketchy – police say only that the death was not suspicious, meaning foul play is not suspected – but the incident seems certain to raise fresh questions about the safety of the Segway, which is banned on British motorways and in some US cities because of safety concerns. A witness reported seeing a man fall Sunday over a 30-foot (nine-meter) drop into the river near the village of Boston Spa, 140 miles (225 kilometers) north of London. The remote, heavily forested area, not far from Heselden's country estate, is popular with hikers. A family spokesman released a statement saying the “exact circumstances of the accident are still being clarified and will, of course, be the subject of an inquest.” The family “has been left devastated by the sudden and tragic loss of a much-loved father and husband,” the spokesman said. Somber family members visited the accident site Monday – placing wreaths – but they asked for privacy. Heselden, a high school dropout who went on to make a fortune developing a blast wall system used to protect troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, never abandoned his gritty roots. He used his money to help people in the working-class area around Leeds where he grew up, earning folk hero status there. The 62-year-old Heselden had bought control of the Bedford, New Hampshire-based Segway in December. “Jimi was an amazing man who, apart from being a wonderful success story for Leeds due to his business acumen, was also remarkably selfless and generous, giving millions to local charities to help people in his home city,” said Tom Riordan, the chief executive of the Leeds City Council.
