(Sept. 27) -- The British tycoon who owned the Segway company died after accidentally riding a rugged version of the two-wheeled machine off a cliff and into a river, according to published reports.
Jimi Heselden, 62, plunged into the River Wharfe Sunday while checking on the grounds of his estate in northern England, the Telegraph reported. He was riding on a "rugged country version" of the scooter, the paper said.
"Police were called at 11:40 a.m. yesterday to reports of a man in the River Wharfe, apparently having fallen from the cliffs above," a spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said today, according to British media reports.
"A Segway-style vehicle was recovered. He was pronounced dead at the scene," the spokesman said. "At this time we do not believe the death to be suspicious."
Police confirmed the body of Heselden, a multimillionaire philanthropist who founded defense company Hesco Bastion, was found in the river, the Guardian reported.
He was found five miles from a factory in Leeds where he made his fortune from defense contracts for Afghanistan and Iraq. His top-selling innovation was a wire basket filled with earth and water that was better than sandbags in protecting troops from missile and mortar attacks, the paper said.
Authorities are investigating whether the death was due to driver error or a problem with the scooter, the Daily Mail reported.
A week ago, Heselden became one of the United Kingdom's most generous philanthropists, making a $15.7 million donation to a charity he established in 2008, the Daily Mail said. He had previously given about $20 million to the same organization.
Heselden was worth about $260 million and ranked 395th on the Sunday Times Rich List, according to reports.
In December, Heselden bought the U.S. company that makes the battery-powered Segway, which uses gyroscopes to stay upright and is controlled by the direction in which the driver tilts. He was said to be testing a cross-country version of it at the time of his death.
Sponsored Links The former miner who left school at age 15 had been giving back to the community through charitable donations in the last several years.
"There are people out there who are making money and when times are good I honestly believe people have a moral obligation to use their wealth to help others," he once said, the Daily Mail reported.
"There are a lot of families out there who are struggling and a lot of youngsters who have grown up without role models and who can't get jobs," he said, adding:
"Life turned out pretty well for me, but I still work in the same area where I grew up and every day I see people who for whatever reason are down on their luck."
