New Details: Indiana Mom Who Died Suddenly on Flight Home From Dominican Republic Enjoyed Mojitos and Steak Dinner Before Mysterious Death
New details have emerged after a mom-of-two from Indiana died suddenly and mysteriously on her flight home from the Dominican Republic.
New details have emerged after a mom-of-two from Indiana died suddenly and mysteriously on her flight home from the Dominican Republic last month, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a shocking development to come after Stefanie Smith, 41, passed away in late February, sources close to the deceased revealed that Smith enjoyed mojitos and a steak dinner at her luxury vacation resort just hours before her death.
Stefanie Smith, 41, passed away mysteriously on February 28 while flying home from the Dominican Republic with her boyfriend.
But flash forward to her flight home from the Dominican Republic to North Carolina on February 28, and Smith reportedly started to convulse in the seat of her plane. She was declared dead shortly after.
“We were sitting in Miami on our layover. The boyfriend called and said that he had something to tell us. He said Stefanie had died,” Maria Yannotti, Smith’s close friend who flew out of the Dominican Republic to Miami before returning to Georgia, explained to Daily Mail on Friday.
“She's gone and he wasn't sure what happened. He said he looked at her and her head was tilted back into her seat,” Yannotti continued. “Her eyes were rolled into the back of her head and he thought she was making fun of him at first.”
“Then she started convulsing and that's when he called for help and they performed CPR and the pilot decided to make the call to land,” she detailed further.
“Then she started convulsing and that's when he called for help and they performed CPR and the pilot decided to make the call to land."
“It floored me. I was in complete shock. I had been texting her just minutes before we received that phone call.”
Smith’s plane reportedly diverted to the Turks and Caicos Islands, and that was where she was declared dead on February 28.
Yannotti also revealed that she and Smith’s surviving family members still do not know what caused the 41-year-old mom-of-two’s sudden and mysterious death last month.
Smith’s loved ones are reportedly awaiting an autopsy to learn whether Smith’s death was a “freak accident” or else “something more.”
Smith, her boyfriend, and two close friends met in Punta Canta on February 23 for a five-day all-inclusive stay.
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“What's happened is just devastating for everyone. We don't know if it was just a freak accident or something more,” Yannotti said. “Until we get the autopsy back it's just a complete mystery.”
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New details also found that Smith was an X-ray technician from Danville, Indiana. She and her boyfriend reportedly met Yannotti and another friend named Clay Sharpe at an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana for a five-day stay on February 23.
Yannotti insisted that no one from their party ever left the resort and, although she admitted that they drank during the vacation, Yannotti also insisted that no one drank “beyond what [she] would call a nice little buzz.”
A fundraiser has since been launched to help raise money for Smith’s son Coen, 18, and daughter Macee, 16.
“We didn't leave the resort the whole time, there was no need to,” Smith’s closest friend told Daily Mail. “The level of drinking never went beyond what I would call a nice little buzz. We pretty much had the same drinks.”
“We enjoyed the strawberry mojitos made with Malibu rum,” she continued. “It's five-star, very secure. I always felt very safe. The food was great. Everything was very clean, very upkept.”
A fundraiser has since been launched to help raise money for Smith’s son Coen, 18, and daughter Macee, 16, whom she shared with her ex-husband.
The fundraiser has reportedly raised more than $80,000 as of Friday, and passengers from Smith's fatal final flight were reportedly among many of those to have donated money.
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