An Indiana mother of two who mysteriously died on her flight home from the Dominican Republic died of natural causes, her family has revealed.
Stefanie Smith, 41, died of a carotid artery dissection in her neck, her brother Chris Volz said ABC News on Wednesday. He described the incident as a ‘truly tragic medical event’ and said the autopsy results did not indicate any foul play.
Smith and her boyfriend had joined close friends Maria Yannotti, 36, and Clay Sharpe, 43, for a five-night stay at the all-inclusive Iberostar Grand Bavaro in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
But the romantic couple’s getaway turned to tragedy minutes into her return journey when she began convulsing and was pronounced dead after the American Airlines flight was diverted to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Volz previously told DailyMail.com that he was unaware his sister had any pre-existing medical conditions. Yannotti also claimed that Smith was the picture of health throughout their vacation, using the hotel’s gym and jogging along the beach.
Stefanie Smith, 41, was just minutes into the American Airlines flight home from the Dominican Republic when she became fatally ill from an unknown cause on February 28
Smith is pictured with her two children. The late mother’s cause of death has now been revealed by her brother
Her brother Chris Volz, pictured with Stefanie Smith, has revealed she died from a carotid artery dissection in her neck
Maria Yannotti, who was on vacation with Smith, said she was the picture of health throughout their vacation, using the hotel’s gym and going for runs along the beach
Smith and her boyfriend had joined close friends Maria Yannotti, 36, and Clay Sharpe, 43, for a five-night stay at the all-inclusive Iberostar Grand Bavaro in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
‘Stefanie was a ball of energy and personality. She was so much fun to be with. She could make anyone smile, Yannotti told DailyMail.com last week.
‘What has happened is just devastating for everyone. We don’t know if it was just an accident or something more. Until we get the autopsy back, it’s just a complete mystery.’
IUPUI graduate Smith and her partner, who has asked not to be named, flew to Punta Cana on Feb. 23, where they met with Sharpe and Yannotti during their liaison in Miami.
The couples booked separate rooms at the adults-only Grand Bavaro, a luxury beachfront resort with three pools, a golf course, private butlers and personal trainers.
The luxurious all-inclusive has five fine restaurants stocked with high-end spirits brands and house wines from Spain, Chile, Italy and the USA, as well as a buffet and ’24-hour gourmet station’.
Punta Cana’s sun-drenched resorts came under scrutiny in 2019 after a wave of American tourists died in unexplained circumstances.
An FBI investigation later revealed that there was nothing sinister about the deaths, which were all unrelated and due to natural causes.
“We didn’t leave the resort the whole time, there was no need to,” added Yannotti, who has stayed several times before at the Grand Bavaro, where rooms cost upwards of $690 a night.
Smith is pictured with girlfriend Maria Yannotti during their vacation in the Dominican Republic. Yannotti told DailyMail.com they enjoyed mojitos and steaks on the trip
Maria Yannotti previously shared a photo from the trip with DailyMail.com. The couples had been staying at the Grand Bavaro, where rooms cost upwards of $690 a night
Smith, 41, and her boyfriend (right) joined close friends Maria Yannotti, 36, (third from left) and Clay Sharpe, 43, (left) for a five-night stay at the all-inclusive Iberostar Grand Bavaro in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Cheshire Hall Medical Center in Turks and Caicos, where Smith was pronounced dead
The two women drank socially, but not too much. Yannotti denied any suggestion that her fitness-loving friend was taking illegal drugs.
‘The drinking level never went beyond what I would call a nice little buzz. We basically had the same drinks. We enjoyed strawberry mojitos made with Malibu rum,’ she said.
The four typically ate a mix of American and international dishes at the hotel’s buffet for lunch and breakfast, sunning themselves or walking the beach all day.
‘It’s five star, very safe. I have always felt very safe. The food was fantastic. Everything was very clean, very well kept,’ Yannotti recalled.
Stefanie Smith worked as an X-ray technician at OrthoIndy Hospital in Indianapolis
On the last day of their stay, they left the beach around
Yannotti and Smith chose the same entrée, ribeye steak, which they paired with a bottle of Moscato wine that was opened and poured in front of them.
“It was fine dining,” Yannotti recalled. No one in the group complained of feeling uncomfortable at any point during the trip, and that night was no different, she added.
Afterwards, Smith and her boyfriend spent an hour or so in Yannotti and Sharpe’s room, reflecting on their ‘fantastic’ vacation and vowing to do it again before they all said their goodbyes.
Yannotti flew home to Baxley, Georgia on another flight that took off several hours after Smith was scheduled to take off from Punta Cana International Airport, bound for Charlotte.
The pair texted back and forth, discussing how long the customs line would likely take before Smith sent his final, haunting message at 1 p.m. 16.55 to the east.
‘Remind me to call you when we land in Charlotte to tell you a funny story,’ she wrote using the plane’s in-flight Wi-Fi.
At 6:12 p.m. local time, air traffic controllers in the Turks and Caicos Islands asked first responders to meet American Airlines Flight 2790, which diverted to Providenciales International Airport due to a medical emergency.
Smith was rushed to Cheshire Hall Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
‘We were sitting in Miami on our layover. The boyfriend called and said he had something to tell us. He said Stefanie was dead. She’s gone and he wasn’t sure what happened, Yannotti said.
‘He said he looked at her and her head was tilted back in her seat. 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 call the ground.
‘It blew me away. I was in complete shock. I had texted her minutes before we received that phone call.’
Stefanie Smith was mum to heartbroken teenagers Coen, 18, and Macee, 16
Stefanie Smith had recently gone through a divorce from husband Eric Smith, 44, father of their two children
Smith, who worked at OrthoIndy Hospital in Indianapolis, had recently gone through a divorce from husband Eric Smith, 44 — the father of their two children, Coen, 18, and Macee, 16.
She met her current partner about a year to a year and a half ago, Yannotti told DailyMail.com.
“Stefanie had just built a brand new beautiful house. She had a good job, two big children. She had absolutely everything in order, she said.
‘We all say life is short, live every day like it’s your last, that kind of thing. But you don’t really understand what it means until something happens to someone you love.’
ONE GoFundMe appeal to raise money for Smith’s teenage children has already received more than $94,000 in donations, with passengers from Smith’s plane among those who contributed.
“I didn’t know Stefanie, but I stood in line in front of her,” wrote Erika Remillard-Hagen. ‘When I was 41, my own two children were the same age as hers. My heart breaks for her family.’