Heart attack cause of I-95 rollover

A Connecticut woman suffered a heart attack a short time before she lost control of her sport utility vehicle that rolled over on Interstate 95 late last week, according to a police investigation.

Rinette Dupuis, 60, was ejected from the 1996 Nissan Pathfinder in the crash. She was airlifted from the scene, about eight miles north of Lincoln, to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor where she subsequently died of severe head injuries.

State Trooper Tom Fiske said alcohol and speed were not factors and that that no defects were found in the SUV that could have caused the accident. Dupuis was heading north when the vehicle turned into the median and Dupuis overcorrected, returning to the interstate where the SUV rolled over several times.

Fiske said that family members indicated that Dupuis always wore her seat belt and the trooper speculated that she may have released the seat belt after the initial onset of chest pains.

Two Pomeranian dogs were also in the vehicle but were not injured. One of them was recovered at the scene, and the other had been picked up by a motorist and was returned the next day.