Mother of 2 dies mysteriously while on flight back from Dominican Republic
A 41-year-old Indiana woman was traveling from the Dominican Republic to Charlotte, North Carolina, on an American Airlines flight last week when she fell ill and died. Her death is being called “mysterious” by many outlets, including ABC News. According to a media release from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, Stefanie Smith fell ill mid-flight, leading the plane to make an emergency landing at Providenciales International Airport in Turks and Caicos. Smith was transported to a hospital where she later died. A cause of death was not immediately determined and medical examiners are conducting an autopsy, the police said. Smith’s family and friends said they were shocked by the news. She had been on vacation with her boyfriend and seemed healthy before the flight, according to her friend who was also on the trip, Maria Yannotti.Yannotti spoke to ABC News, saying, “She loves going to the gym every day, even while we were in the Dominican. She made it a point to get up every morning to go to the gym and run on the beach.”Yannotti told ABC News that Smith’s boyfriend was sitting next to her on the flight and said her eyes rolled back and began convulsing.”A doctor and nurses on board the plane helped to administer CPR to Smith before the plane made an emergency landing, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation,” the ABC News article says.Smith was the mother of two children, according to her brother, Chris Volz. Volz told ABC News that he was not aware of his sister having any preexisting health conditions.
A 41-year-old Indiana woman was traveling from the Dominican Republic to Charlotte, North Carolina, on an American Airlines flight last week when she fell ill and died. Her death is being called “mysterious” by many outlets, including ABC News.
According to a media release from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, Stefanie Smith fell ill mid-flight, leading the plane to make an emergency landing at Providenciales International Airport in Turks and Caicos. Smith was transported to a hospital where she later died. A cause of death was not immediately determined and medical examiners are conducting an autopsy, the police said.
Smith’s family and friends said they were shocked by the news. She had been on vacation with her boyfriend and seemed healthy before the flight, according to her friend who was also on the trip, Maria Yannotti.
Yannotti spoke to ABC News, saying, “She loves going to the gym every day, even while we were in the Dominican. She made it a point to get up every morning to go to the gym and run on the beach.”
Yannotti told ABC News that Smith’s boyfriend was sitting next to her on the flight and said her eyes rolled back and began convulsing.
“A doctor and nurses on board the plane helped to administer CPR to Smith before the plane made an emergency landing, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation,” the ABC News article says.
Smith was the mother of two children, according to her brother, Chris Volz. Volz told ABC News that he was not aware of his sister having any preexisting health conditions.
