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An Indiana mother of two was flying home from a week-long couples' vacation in the Dominican Republic Feb. 28 when she suddenly died on the plane, according to her friend.
The American Airlines flight was headed from Punta Cana toward Charlotte when Stefanie Smith, 41, began convulsing soon after takeoff, forcing the plane to divert to Turks and Caicos, Smith's friend, Maria Yannotti, told Fox News Digital.
"Her boyfriend had told us that they were getting ready to … get altitude, or they hadn't been in the air very long. But he said that he looked over at her, and her head was tilted back in her seat. Her eyes were rolled in the back of her head, and he thought she was just making fun of them. They normally joke around … like that," said Yannotti, who was on the trip to Punta Cana with her fiancé, Smith and Smith's boyfriend.
"And he said, ‘Next thing you know, she was convulsing,’" Yannotti added.
FAMILY OF INDIANA MOM WHO DIED ON AA PLANE REMAIN WITH UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Stefanie Smith died suddenly aboard a flight home from Punta Cana, where she had been on vacation for a week. (Maria Yannotti)
Smith's boyfriend asked flight attendants for help, and they began performing CPR, to no avail.
The Turks and Caicos Island Police announced that day they received a call at 6:12 p.m. from "the Air Traffic Control Tower requesting medical assistance for a 41-year-old female, who at the time was receiving [CPR]." Authorities dispatched a medical team and police to the scene and transported Smith to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre, where she was pronounced dead.
Stefanie Smith began convulsing on a flight home from Punta Cana. (Facebook)
Just before her plane took off, Smith texted Yannotti at 4:55 p.m., asking Yannotti to remind her to call once she reached her connection in Charlotte because she had "a funny story" to tell.
Yannotti said Smith and her boyfriend went with them on the trip to celebrate Yannotti's fiancé's birthday. The two couples were staying at the Iberostar Grand Bávaro in Punta Cana, an all-inclusive resort where rooms start at more than $600 per night.
Maria Yannotti said Stefanie Smith and her boyfriend went on the trip to Punta Cana to celebrate Yannotti's fiancé's birthday. (Maria Yannotti)
"Everything she had, I had," Yannotti said. "We ate about the same meals. We drank about the same drinks. You know, it wasn't like [any]body was belligerent. [W]e just had our nice drinks by the pool and by the beach. I mean, most of the time, we watched them open the bottles right in front of us. We were having a great time. We played beach volleyball. We swam."
Yannotti, who said she has known Smith for nearly two years because their partners are friends, went on to describe her friend as a "ball of energy" and "the life of the party."
Maria Yannotti, who said she had known Stefanie Smith for nearly two years because their partners are friends, described her friend as a "ball of energy" and "the life of the party." (Maria Yannotti)
"She's definitely one of a kind. She was a ball of energy. She was always willing to help somebody, excited, always smiling. When I met her … I just knew we were going to click because she was a personality like myself. She was just full of life. I mean, she would give anybody a shirt off her back. Sometimes she would put … people before herself, and she loved to have a good time. Loved to laugh … sing karaoke. Just the life of the party."
Smith's boyfriend is taking her sudden death "bad," Yannotti said.
INDIANA MOTHER FALLS ILL, DIES ON AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT FROM DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Autopsy results for Stefanie Smith have yet to be released. (Facebook)
"I mean, he was sitting right there beside her. She took her last breath not knowing that was probably going to be her last breath," Yannotti said.
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Autopsy and toxicology results have yet to be released. Fox News Digital has reached out to the owner of the resort where Smith and Yannotti were staying and the State Department.
