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View Full Version : Segway Owner Dies


Xantar
09-27-2010, 11:38 PM
No, not the inventor of the Segway but the man who bought out the company about a year ago.

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 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 U.S. cities because of safety concerns.


Source: Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/27/AR2010092701618.html)

I know this probably makes me a horrible person, but I had to snicker a little bit at the idea of the owner of Segway dying while riding one of his products too close to a cliff.

Combine 017
09-28-2010, 04:08 AM
I know this probably makes me a horrible person, but I had to snicker a little bit at the idea of the owner of Segway dying while riding one of his products too close to a cliff.

Meh, I laughed when I found out too.

Typhoid
09-28-2010, 06:53 AM
Well, I don't see them selling much after they killed their owner.

Angrist
09-28-2010, 11:55 AM
The Segways have become sentient.

The Germanator
09-28-2010, 01:01 PM
Segways are deceptively fast and dangerous if you don't really know what you're doing. I was out of control a couple times when I rode one on a slightly steep hill at a festival in Switzerland.

Though you'd think this guy would know how to ride one considering he owns the damn company. Sad, but ridiculous story.

Seth
09-30-2010, 01:07 PM
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Segway near cliff? I wouldn't rule out foul play. The guy had lots of money.

Should have invested in 'green' transportation technology that actually has viable applications. I'd rather die using an e-bike or e-car than a segway.

So much for his precomposed marble headstone obituary.