A 21-year-old Salve Regina University football player died of carbon monoxide poisoning after he sat inside his running car to charge his phone during a powerful winter storm that left large parts of the Northeast without electricity, authorities said.
The death of Joseph Boutros has become one of the most closely watched tragedies tied to the region’s record snowfall, because it happened during a widespread power outage and in a setting many students know well: a campus parking lot. Newport police said the car’s exhaust pipe was blocked by snow, causing carbon monoxide to build up. The university and Boutros’ teammates announced his death in public statements as Rhode Island continued digging out from drifts and stalled cleanup, and investigators reviewed the scene as an accidental death.
Police and fire crews were called to a parking lot off Bellevue Avenue at about 7:20 p.m. Monday for a wellness check after a report of someone inside a vehicle, officials said. Responders found Boutros unconscious in the car and rushed him to Newport Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Newport Police Capt. Joseph Carroll said the vehicle’s exhaust pipe was obstructed by snow, and police described the death as accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. The area did not have power at the time, and Carroll said Boutros had told another student he was using his car to charge his phone. Investigators have not said how long the car had been running or how long he was inside before he was discovered, but police said the storm conditions created a dangerous situation around the parked vehicle.
Officials and school leaders offered only limited details about Boutros’ final hours, but several accounts described the same core facts: the car was running, the vehicle was covered in snow, and the tailpipe area was packed in. In a statement, the Newport Police Department called it a “tragic incident” and said the case was accidental. Salve Regina confirmed that Boutros died at Newport Hospital and said it would not provide further details “out of respect and privacy.” University President Kelli J. Armstrong said the campus was mourning and focused on supporting the student’s family, classmates and teammates. “Our hearts ache with Joseph’s family, teammates, faculty, coaches, friends and all who loved him,” Armstrong said. A friend, Krystian Reese, told local reporters the news felt unreal, saying, “I couldn’t even believe it, it’s hard to deal with.”
Boutros was a sophomore and offensive lineman for Salve Regina, a Division III program in Newport, and he studied criminal justice and criminology, according to the school’s athletics roster. He was from Bohemia, New York, and played at Connetquot High School before joining the Seahawks. Teammates described him as upbeat and close with the group, and the football program said it was “heartbroken” as word spread across campus and back to his hometown. The death also landed in the middle of an already stressful week for many students and residents, as snow drifts and road closures limited travel and made it harder for utilities to reach downed lines. Police did not identify the student who spoke to Boutros about charging his phone, and they have not released any body camera video, dispatch audio, or detailed diagrams of the parking area where he was found.
The storm that hit Rhode Island and neighboring states was one of the largest in decades. At T.F. Green International Airport in Warwick, officials recorded 37.9 inches of snow, a new state record, and residents in parts of Newport reported deep drifts along narrow streets. The system, described by forecasters as a major nor’easter, also slammed coastal Massachusetts and other parts of New England with heavy snow and wind. Reuters reported that more than 380,000 homes and businesses across the region lost power as crews faced hazardous conditions, including strong wind gusts and poor visibility. In Rhode Island, some neighborhoods woke up for a third straight morning with streets still not fully cleared, and local officials urged patience as plows and contractors tried to catch up. The disruption meant many residents, including students, looked for ways to keep phones powered and stay in touch as outages stretched on.
Authorities have said Boutros’ death is being handled as an accidental case rather than a criminal investigation, and no arrests are expected. Newport police said the incident began as a welfare call, then shifted into an emergency medical response once crews reached the vehicle. The Newport Fire Department transported Boutros to the hospital, and police said he died shortly afterward. Investigators have not released an autopsy summary beyond the stated cause of death, and they have not said whether they expect a final medical examiner report in the coming days or weeks. Salve Regina officials have not announced any public memorial plans in the statements cited by police and local news reports, but the school said the community was grieving and working through campus channels to support those affected. For city officials, the case has also become part of a broader storm review that includes emergency response times, welfare checks and the strain placed on first responders during extreme weather.
On campus and across Newport, the scene this week reflected a city trying to function while buried in snow. Parking lots and sidewalks were rimmed with tall banks, and crews moved between streets where plows had carved narrow lanes. Utility trucks and tree crews worked to restore lines and clear debris, while students reported patchy power and spotty service in some areas. Within that setting, Boutros’ death traveled quickly through tight circles of teammates, classmates and local residents who recognized Bellevue Avenue and the university buildings nearby. The football program’s statement described him as more than a teammate and said he had a “positive spirit” that affected others around him. Friends said they were struggling to understand how a routine effort to keep a phone charged during an outage ended in a fatal emergency, even as the broader cleanup continued in the background.
As of Friday, Newport police had not announced any new findings beyond the account of a blocked exhaust and an accidental death. Snow removal and power restoration continued across parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and officials said some work could take days as crews reach hard-hit neighborhoods. For Boutros’ family and school, the next milestone is expected to be the release of any final medical reports and the university’s decisions about remembrance events.
Author note: Last updated February 27, 2026.