Steven Posner lived with abandon. Perhaps a little too much, according to county records.
Posner, who died last week in a high-speed boat crash on Biscayne Bay, was an avid car and boat enthusiast. But his need for speed sometimes led him to run afoul of the law. County records show Posner received five fines for boating-related violations in the late 1980s.
In 1986, Posner was fined an unknown amount for operating an unnumbered boat. A year later, Posner was fined again four times for breaking three boating regulations and one municipal order. It's difficult to know which regulations Posner broke, however, since the case files were later destroyed, as is routine with older county records.
On November 30 around 1 p.m., Posner, his cousin, and a friend were guiding their 44-foot "rum runner" north after a brief outing when they spotted another boat headed in the opposite direction. Somehow, the two crafts ended up speeding north together until Posner's boat swerved violently in front of the other catamaran, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife spokesman Jorge Piño. Posner was killed from head trauma, while friend Clive Warwick was thrown from the boat and also died. Posner's cousin, Stuart Posner, was critically injured in the accident.
"At this point, we have no evidence to suggest that the two boats were racing," Piño told New Times. He said he was still waiting on GPS data that will help determine how fast the boats were traveling at the time of the accident.
Catamarans are capable of reaching speeds over 100 mph, Piño said, but often require two people to safely control them at such high speeds. His investigation has not yet determined fault in the crash.
Posner, 67, was the eldest son of Miami real estate baron and corporate raider Victor Posner. Steven's twin sister, Gail, died earlier this year from cancer, leaving her share of the family fortune to her chihuahua.
