NEWPORT, RI — A Salve Regina University student was pronounced dead Saturday night after being found unconscious in a vehicle on Bellevue Avenue, according to the Newport Police Department.
Police and fire responders arrived at a parking lot on Bellevue Avenue around 7:20 p.m. on February 23 to conduct a welfare check on the person inside the vehicle.
When officers arrived, they discovered Joseph Boutros, 21, of Newport, unresponsive in the running vehicle, which had a snow-covered exhaust pipe embedded in the snow.
Newport Fire Rescue transported Boutros to Newport Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Authorities determined the cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning and said the incident was accidental.
