The Indiana mother of two who died on a flight home from the Dominican Republic last week had been drinking mojitos and enjoying a steak dinner by the pool the night before she suddenly fell ill.
Stephanie Smith, 41, appeared to be in perfect health during her five-night stay at the Iberostar Grand Bavaro in Punta Cana, her friend and travel buddy Maria Yannotti told the Daily. he told the Mail.
“The level of drinking never went beyond what you would call a minor buzz. We had pretty much the same drinks. We enjoyed strawberry mojitos made with Malibu rum,” she said chronicling the trip. Ta. Her trip included trips to the resort’s five restaurants in between time at the beach and poolside.
On the last night of the trip, Smith, Yannotti, and their partners had dinner at El Galleon, which bills itself as a luxury surf and turf restaurant.
Smith and Yannotti both paired their ribeye steak with a bottle of Moscato, the latter recalled.
“Five stars and very safe. I always felt very safe. The food was great. Everything was very clean and very well maintained,” Yannotti told the Daily Mail about the meal. told.
She noted that no one on the trip complained about food or feeling unwell at any point.
Smith, an X-ray technician, had two teenage children at home and regularly went to the resort’s gym and ran on the white sand beach.
“Stephanie was a bundle of energy and personality. She was so fun to be around. She could make anyone smile,” lamented Yannotti.
Yannotti and her husband were scheduled to fly back to Georgia on Feb. 28, hours after Smith and her boyfriend took off on the first repatriation flight to Charlotte, she explained.
The last text she received from Smith was around 4:55 p.m. ET, saying, “I have an interesting story to tell you, so remind me to call you when you get to Charlotte.”
But less than two hours later, Smith began convulsing in his seat and the plane was diverted to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
She was taken to a local medical center, where she was pronounced dead.
“We were sitting in Miami on a layover. My boyfriend called and said he wanted to talk to us. He said Stephanie had died. She was gone, but… , he had no idea what was happening,” Yannotti told the Daily Mail.
“He said when he saw her, her head was tilted into the seat. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and at first he thought she was teasing him.” she continued.
“Then she started convulsing and that’s when he called for help, they performed CPR and the pilot decided to land,” said a grieving friend.
“It surprised me. I was completely shocked. Just a few minutes before I got the call, I was texting her,” Yannotti added.
Smith’s friends and family, including her children, ages 18 and 16, are awaiting the results of a private autopsy, the Daily Mail reported.
“What happened is devastating for everyone. We don’t know if it was just a freak accident or if something more happened. It’s a total mystery until the autopsy results come back.” said Yannotti.
She had no pre-existing medical conditions, her brother Chris Volz told the Daily Mail.
“Stephanie had just built a brand new beautiful house. She had a great job and two wonderful children. She really had everything going for her,” Yannotti said sadly.
“Everyone says that life is short, live every day like it’s your last,” she says. “But you don’t really understand what that means until something happens to someone you love.” Admitted.
As of Friday morning, a GoFundMe for Smith’s children had raised $87,000 of its $100,000 goal.
