Sad (and ironic) news out of England today: The British businessman who owned the Segway company, James Heselden, died by riding one of the company’s scooters off of a cliff.

According to reports, a man was seen falling over a cliff into a river about 140 miles north of London on Sunday. A Segway was recovered at the scene.

Articles covering the news and the company website have highlighted Heselden’s philanthropy. One story from Bloomberg also makes mention of a 2006 voluntary recall, another recall in 2003, and a 2003 incident where President George Bush fell from a Segway he was riding in Maine.

(I tried riding a Segway once at a press event and had a hard time getting the hang of it. Others seemed to catch on, however. This might say more about the rider than the vehicle.)

While the company website offers no other information in its statement, it will definitely have to answer for the vehicle’s safety at some point in the near future.