On Florida’s ritzy Fisher Island, a millionaire’s paradise where peacocks mill about and golf is the game of choice, tragedy rarely happens.
Yet on February 18, it did.
Friends Emma Afra, 63, and Viviane Brahms drowned when their Mercedes Benz rolled off the ferry that sails from the exclusive haven to the mainland, their bodies found clutching onto each other when divers searched for them.
It’s hard to fathom how the incident occurred. Ferries make the 7-minute journey thousands of times a month, each time shuttling guests and residents of the United States’ richest zip code back and forth.
But while the yachts docked at the marina would look out of place if they had even a speck of dirt on them, several of the island-owned ferries sport unseemly rust spots and the only thing separating vehicles from the edge of the boat is a fabric barricade.
It was such a barrier that did nothing to halt the elderly women’s vehicle as it rolled through the useless fence and plunged into the water, ultimately killing the longtime friends.
Friends Emma Afra, 63, (left) and Viviane Brahms (right) drowned when their Mercedes Benz rolled off the ferry that sails from the exclusive haven of Fisher Island, Florida to the mainland, their bodies found clutching onto each other when divers searched for them
The only thing separating vehicles from the edge of the boat is a fabric barricade (pictured). And it was such a barrier that did nothing to halt the women’s vehicle as it rolled through the useless fence and plunged into the water, ultimately killing the longtime friends
It’s hard to fathom how the incident occurred. Ferries make the 7-minute journey thousands of times a month, each time shuttling guests and residents of the United States’ richest zip code back and forth
With home prices going from $2 million to the $40 million-range, some residents pay as much as $100,000-a-year in fees for the amenities, including the ferry, a fire station, a school, a library, a food market, four restaurants and a theater
Afra, a long-time downtown Miami resident known to volunteer for children’s charities, was behind the wheel of her boyfriend’s Mercedes Benz, while Brahms, wife of retired Manhattan nightclub owner and ex-con Maurice Brahms, rode shotgun.
Their car quickly sank to the bottom of the channel, about 50 feet underneath the surface.
The speculation is that the women scurried to the back seat as the car filled up with water from the front. That’s where their bodies would be found by divers.
Several government agencies, including the Coast Guard and Miami Beach Police, are still investigating and have yet to release their findings.
But they’ve told local media they are working on the assumption that the car slipped into gear and Afra pushed on the gas pedal instead of the brake.
The investigation hit a snag over the weekend when Brahms’ husband Maurice, 80, filed an emergency injunction against the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s office to prevent Viviane’s autopsy, citing religious grounds.
‘There can be no doubt that Viviane Brahms died drowning after the vehicle fell into the water,’ Maurice’s petition read. ‘For over 50 years, the plaintiff (Maurice) and his wife maintained a traditional Jewish home and traditional Jewish values, including the strong belief in burial according to Jewish law.
‘Jewish law forbids the desecration of the body, and an autopsy is considered desecration.’
Fisher Island is a millionaire’s paradise, with the average household earning around $2.5 million a year. The large yachts docked at the marina just wouldn’t look like they belong if they had a speck of dirt on the hull or the deck
The dozen or so peacocks milling about the 220-acre island’s original estate built in the 1920s by yachtsman William K. Vanderbilt II look a little shinier than anywhere else
Together, Afra and Brahms were known to frequent the island’s beach club for leisurely lunches just feet away from the water’s edge. Pictured: The Fisher Island Beach Club’s beach on Biscayne Bay
According to numbers from the latest census, Fisher Island has about 400 condos clustered in low-rises and a handful of single-family houses build along the island’s shoreline. The center of the island is occupied by the golf course
A ferry ride from Fisher Island to the mainland of Miami only takes around 11 minutes
By February 21, three days after the accident, a Miami-Dade County circuit court sided with Brahms and ordered the office of Medical Examiner to not perform an autopsy.
The court did allow the office to obtain blood samples and fluid from inside her eyes, as long as the blood and fluid unused in the testing would be returned into the body.
Brahms’ corpse was turned over to her family and a service was held on Sunday in Manhattan.
Medical ExaminerDr. Emma Lew told DailyMail.com: “We always want the maximum amount of information possible for an optimal investigation to arrive at the most probable cause and manner of death. This makes the case ‘harder to solve’ in that we are missing information from the autopsy.”
The victims, DailyMail.com has learned, did not own property on Fisher Island.
They were granted access because they were visiting residents.
Afra, explained a worker at the Fisher Island Beach Club, often came to visit her boyfriend Howard Weissman, 77, a retired St. Louis, Missouri businessman who built a successful dance-and stage-costume empire.
Weissman opened the door of his $3.7 million-condo with sweeping ocean views on Saturday but said he didn’t want to be interviewed about his girlfriend’s death.
Other island residents said Afra was just getting over the 2016 suicide death of her husband, businessman Siavash ‘Sia’ Afra.
Island residents said Afra was just getting over the suicide death of her husband, businessman Siavash ‘Sia’ Afra (pictured together in February 2016), who died in 2016
Afra often came to visit her boyfriend Howard Weissman, 77, (left and right) a retired St. Louis, Missouri businessman who built a successful dance-and stage-costume empire. ‘She was just starting to love living again,’ said one resident. ‘She had a hard time for several years but she was very excited of her prospect of life with Howard’
‘She was just starting to love living again,’ said one resident. ‘She had a hard time for several years but she was very excited of her prospect of life with Howard.’
Afra doesn’t appear to have any family left and her estate and funeral arrangements are being cared for by another friend, former WPLG-Channel 10 star anchorwoman Laurie Jennings.
Brahms, meanwhile, came to the island to visit her former stepson, New York private jet company executive Todd Rome.
Together, Afra and Brahms were known to frequent the island’s beach club for leisurely lunches just feet away from the water’s edge.
A beach club employee who asked not to be named said whether they’re one of the 600 full-time residents or visitors who stay at the $1,800-a-night Fisher Island Club Hotel, both parties look for the same things.
‘They’re looking for posh surroundings and more importantly, privacy,’ the worker said. ‘No one who’s not registered can get on the ferry. It’s like a gated community, except it’s even more secluded and safer.
‘There’s craziness going on in Miami and in Miami Beach, and the causeway is totally a stand-still. But on the other side of the channel, Fisher Island is unfazed and untouched by the frenzy.’
Afra (left) doesn’t appear to have any family left and her estate and funeral arrangements are being cared for by another friend, former WPLG-Channel 10 star anchorwoman Laurie Jennings. Brahms (right), meanwhile, came to the island to visit her former stepson, New York private jet company executive Todd Rome
Pictured: Brick-sized plastic blocks are placed around the front wheels of the vehicles closest to the bow and stern
The Fisher Island ferries use fabric fences to close off the bow and stern during their short sails between the mainland and the island dock. The fence on the ferry Pelican didn’t prevent the Mercedes from careening off the ship and into the water
Fisher Island is so safe that most residents don’t lock the doors to their condos or their cars.
‘Everybody drives a golf cart without even taking the key out the ignition while it’s parked,’ the worker said. ‘Someone steals a golf cart, and there’s nowhere to go. You can’t get on the ferry on a golf cart.’
According to numbers from the latest census, Fisher Island has about 800 condos clustered in low-rises and a handful of single-family houses build along the island’s shoreline.
The center of the island is occupied by the golf course.
With home prices going from $2 million to the $40 million-range, some residents pay as much as $100,000-a-year in fees for the amenities, including the ferry, a fire station, a school, a library, a food market, four restaurants and a theater.
The island itself is also a microcosm of South Florida, with a high percentage of rich South Americans, Russians, Orthodox Jews and Anglos.
And there are some minor celebrities who call it home, including retired tennis players Andre Agassi and Boris Becker, Cagney & Lacey actress Sharon Gless, billionaire Syntel founder Bharat Desai and Victoria’s Secret supermodel Karolina Kurkova.