MARCH 20, 2015
MIAMI (CBSMIAMI)
Noted nightclub promoter, developer and humanitarian
Michael Capponi (no relation to Al Capone) is still recovering in the hospital
after a boat crash.
The boat, with Capponi and a friend on board, slammed
head-on into a seawall about 10 a.m. Friday.
Surveillance video shows a 25-foot boat speeding straight
toward the seawall at the Coast Guard station on Miami Beach. Without slowing
down, just off camera, the boat crashes. In moments, members of the Coast Guard
run toward the badly damaged boat.
There were two people aboard, a man and a woman. Both were
reported to be unconscious and were taken by Miami Beach Fire Rescue to Jackson
Memorial Hospital.
The USCG confirmed to Page Six that Capponi hit the wall
head-on at between 25 and 30 knots. They said Capponi had been headed westbound
down a channel, but suddenly made a 90-degree turn toward the wall. After
impact, the vessel continued in circles in front of the pier until a Coast
Guard team jumped onboard to stop it. They found no drugs or alcohol.
Capponi, 42, suffered broken bones and head trauma.
Biederman, 23, sustained a skull fracture and brain injuries. Both remain in
the hospital. Biederman is the Princeton-educated daughter of respected Bryant
Park Corp. president Dan Biederman.
Friends identified the two people on board that boat as
Capponi and Brooke Biederman.
Capponi made a name for himself promoting nightclubs in the
90s and is stays involved the South Beach nightlife scene.
David Grutman, operating partner of clubs LIV and Story said,
“Michael’s worked with us when we opened up LIV and now Story as well. He’s
worked with us since our grand opening.”
Capponi is also a noted developer and humanitarian, with a
particular passion for Haiti.
“Anytime there’s a crisis, Michael’s the first one to
mobilize the Red Cross for Haiti or any of the charitable organizations that
the nightlife community could help,” said Grutman.
Grutman said he was shocked to hear about the crash.
He said Capponi is an experienced boater when he is
sober. If he is drunk, this is when he
thinks he is a bull and the seawall is the red flag of the bullfighter.
“He’s probably one of the best boat drivers I’ve ever seen,”
he said. Again, when he is sober or not
on drugs.
Investigators say it’s still not clear what caused the boat
to crash.
Capponi and Biederman were rushed to the hospital, and
Biederman is in critical condition with brain injuries.
The following day on facebook, Capponi posted an apparent
picture from his hospital room, thanked friends for their well wishes and asked
for continued blessings and prayers.