- Joined
- Aug 9, 2010
- Location
- Coral Springs, Florida
This story appeared in the Sun Sentinel this morning. I can't believe how self centered some people are. One other person besides the driver died and another person was injured and they sit there and wax poetic that the Posner guy would have liked to die this way. Maybe so but the other person may have wanted to live.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Son of Victor Posner dies in speedboat crash in south Biscayne Bay
By Elaine Walker and Jennifer Lebovich, The Miami Herald
10:01 PM EST, November 29, 2010
Posner, 67, was killed in a high-speed boat crash on Biscayne Bay that took another man's life and critically injured his cousin. Posner's 44-foot, high-performance boat was apparently trying to overtake a friend's vessel when they collided during a midday jaunt on a clear Miami day.
"Whenever he could, he loved to be out on the water," said Posner's daughter, Dr. Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber. "He liked boating and fast boats. He died doing something that he loved."
Posner's death added yet another tragic chapter to the Posner family history. Posner was the eldest son of corporate raider Victor Posner, who died in 2002, sparking a major will contest among his family members. Steven's twin sister Gail died earlier this year of cancer at her Miami Beach home.
The collision happened in Biscayne Bay a mile or two east of Matheson Hammock Marina just after 1 p.m. Witnesses tried to help the men, radioing that help was urgently needed.
"It was a pretty horrific collision," said Jorge Pino, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Based on information from witnesses, the vessels were being operated at a high rate of speed and somehow collided with each other."
Both boats were ultra-fast racing catamarans, capable of rocketing across the water at more than 100 mph. They are so powerful that they require two people to safely operate at high speeds — a driver at the helm and throttle man controlling the speed.
Larry Goldman, who owns Xtreme Marine, a performance dealer in Miami, said both of the boat owners were his customers. He had known Steven Posner since the mid-'80s.
"Steven loved to go fast," he said. "He loved boats. I don't think he could have picked a different way to go if he had to."
One of the vessels was called Mixed Emotions, a 46-foot Skater rigged with twin 1,200-horsepower engines, owned and operated by Fritz Eigelshoven. He suffered rib injuries and was taken to the hospital. At least one other person on board with him was not seriously injured.
Posner, his cousin Stuart Posner, and a friend were on Posner's MTI, another vessel.
Posner had never named it.
Stuart Posner was critically injured in the crash and taken by helicopter to Jackson Memorial Hospital. The third, unidentified friend was thrown into the water and was pronounced dead at the scene.
About 20 minutes before the crash, Goldman got a call from Stuart Posner saying the boat was leaving Grove Harbor Marina headed back to Goldman's shop in North Miami.
"Everything was fine. The boat was running great," Goldman said.
Eigelshoven's Mixed Emotions boat was heading out when he saw Posner's boat, Goldman said. The two men — who had met through Goldman — decided to go boating together.
Goldman spent Monday night trying to piece together what happened from looking at the boats, and talking to investigators and witnesses.
Goldman said it appeared the boats were traveling side by side when Posner's boat tried to overtake Mixed Emotions, sideswiping it. Posner's boat pierced the hull of Mixed Emotions, he said. A serious crack could be seen across the right side of its gleaming hull.
A witness estimated the speed of Mixed Emotions was about 80 to 90 mph.
"I got a call from the driver of Mixed Emotions there was a terrible accident," Goldman said. "He told me one person was in the water and no one was moving on the boat that overtook him."
"It's a sad day for the whole boating community," said Neal Wobbe, the Mixed Emotions' regular throttle operator who wasn't on board the vessel. "It's kind of a family in this industry. Everybody is affected when something like this happens."
Initially, Steven worked closely with his father, Victor Posner. The two were among the early corporate raiders, sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the landmark civil securities fraud suit that included Michael Milken and Drexel Burnham Lambert.
Steven and Victor Posner were both barred by the SEC from serving as officers or directors of a public company.
But in the late '80s, father and son had a falling out over trust money. The two were locked in a battle for well more than a decade that included multiple lawsuits. Steven claimed the elder Posner had cheated him out of millions of dollars. Their dispute was finally settled the year before Victor Posner's death.
In a gesture befitting Posner's brash business style, they agreed to divvy up the assets to be included in Steven's settlement by tossing a golden dollar coin before a Miami-Dade circuit judge. The crown jewel of Steven's settlement was a majority interest in 9.8-acre tract on Hallandale Beach.
Though terms of the settlement, which was signed in the spring of 2001, weren't made public, sources said they netted Steven Posner real-estate holdings worth an estimated $100 million. In exchange, Steven gave up any future claim on his father's estate.
Posner Gerstenhaber described her father as a "fun-loving'' man with a "amazingly big heart."
"People loved to be around him," she said from her home in New York. "He loved to have fun. He loved entertaining and being with his family. He was a loving father and grandfather."
In addition to his daughter, Steven Posner had two sons, Sean Posner of Miami and Jarrett Posner of New York, as well as five grandchildren.
Miami Herald staff writers Curtis Morgan and Diana Moskovitz contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Son of Victor Posner dies in speedboat crash in south Biscayne Bay
By Elaine Walker and Jennifer Lebovich, The Miami Herald
10:01 PM EST, November 29, 2010
Advertisement
Real-estate tycoon Steven Posner, whose family was known for living large and pushing the limits, died Monday the same way he lived: in the fast lane.
Posner, 67, was killed in a high-speed boat crash on Biscayne Bay that took another man's life and critically injured his cousin. Posner's 44-foot, high-performance boat was apparently trying to overtake a friend's vessel when they collided during a midday jaunt on a clear Miami day.
"Whenever he could, he loved to be out on the water," said Posner's daughter, Dr. Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber. "He liked boating and fast boats. He died doing something that he loved."
Posner's death added yet another tragic chapter to the Posner family history. Posner was the eldest son of corporate raider Victor Posner, who died in 2002, sparking a major will contest among his family members. Steven's twin sister Gail died earlier this year of cancer at her Miami Beach home.
The collision happened in Biscayne Bay a mile or two east of Matheson Hammock Marina just after 1 p.m. Witnesses tried to help the men, radioing that help was urgently needed.
"It was a pretty horrific collision," said Jorge Pino, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Based on information from witnesses, the vessels were being operated at a high rate of speed and somehow collided with each other."
Both boats were ultra-fast racing catamarans, capable of rocketing across the water at more than 100 mph. They are so powerful that they require two people to safely operate at high speeds — a driver at the helm and throttle man controlling the speed.
Larry Goldman, who owns Xtreme Marine, a performance dealer in Miami, said both of the boat owners were his customers. He had known Steven Posner since the mid-'80s.
"Steven loved to go fast," he said. "He loved boats. I don't think he could have picked a different way to go if he had to."
One of the vessels was called Mixed Emotions, a 46-foot Skater rigged with twin 1,200-horsepower engines, owned and operated by Fritz Eigelshoven. He suffered rib injuries and was taken to the hospital. At least one other person on board with him was not seriously injured.
Posner, his cousin Stuart Posner, and a friend were on Posner's MTI, another vessel.
Posner had never named it.
Stuart Posner was critically injured in the crash and taken by helicopter to Jackson Memorial Hospital. The third, unidentified friend was thrown into the water and was pronounced dead at the scene.
About 20 minutes before the crash, Goldman got a call from Stuart Posner saying the boat was leaving Grove Harbor Marina headed back to Goldman's shop in North Miami.
"Everything was fine. The boat was running great," Goldman said.
Eigelshoven's Mixed Emotions boat was heading out when he saw Posner's boat, Goldman said. The two men — who had met through Goldman — decided to go boating together.
Goldman spent Monday night trying to piece together what happened from looking at the boats, and talking to investigators and witnesses.
Goldman said it appeared the boats were traveling side by side when Posner's boat tried to overtake Mixed Emotions, sideswiping it. Posner's boat pierced the hull of Mixed Emotions, he said. A serious crack could be seen across the right side of its gleaming hull.
A witness estimated the speed of Mixed Emotions was about 80 to 90 mph.
"I got a call from the driver of Mixed Emotions there was a terrible accident," Goldman said. "He told me one person was in the water and no one was moving on the boat that overtook him."
"It's a sad day for the whole boating community," said Neal Wobbe, the Mixed Emotions' regular throttle operator who wasn't on board the vessel. "It's kind of a family in this industry. Everybody is affected when something like this happens."
Initially, Steven worked closely with his father, Victor Posner. The two were among the early corporate raiders, sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the landmark civil securities fraud suit that included Michael Milken and Drexel Burnham Lambert.
Steven and Victor Posner were both barred by the SEC from serving as officers or directors of a public company.
But in the late '80s, father and son had a falling out over trust money. The two were locked in a battle for well more than a decade that included multiple lawsuits. Steven claimed the elder Posner had cheated him out of millions of dollars. Their dispute was finally settled the year before Victor Posner's death.
In a gesture befitting Posner's brash business style, they agreed to divvy up the assets to be included in Steven's settlement by tossing a golden dollar coin before a Miami-Dade circuit judge. The crown jewel of Steven's settlement was a majority interest in 9.8-acre tract on Hallandale Beach.
Though terms of the settlement, which was signed in the spring of 2001, weren't made public, sources said they netted Steven Posner real-estate holdings worth an estimated $100 million. In exchange, Steven gave up any future claim on his father's estate.
Posner Gerstenhaber described her father as a "fun-loving'' man with a "amazingly big heart."
"People loved to be around him," she said from her home in New York. "He loved to have fun. He loved entertaining and being with his family. He was a loving father and grandfather."
In addition to his daughter, Steven Posner had two sons, Sean Posner of Miami and Jarrett Posner of New York, as well as five grandchildren.
Miami Herald staff writers Curtis Morgan and Diana Moskovitz contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel