Cause of death announced for Minnesota bus driver found dead by basketball team
The beloved school bus driver who was found dead inside a bus after a high school basketball game in January died from heart disease, according to autopsy results from the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office.
The report, obtained by Willmar Radio, lists 48-year-old Jeannie Waltz's cause of death as right ventricular dysplasia-cardiomyopathy, which the Mayo Clinic describes as a "rare type of cardiomyopathy" that causes the lower right heart chamber to be replaced by scar tissue, which can lead to heart rhythm problems.
Waltz, who lived in the western Minnesota town of Clara City, was found unresponsive by members of the MACCRAY girls basketball team following a high school game in Tyler, Minnesota, on Tuesday, Jan. 18.
Tyler Police Department confirmed to Bring Me The News that Waltz stayed in the bus during basketball games between MACCRAY and Russell-Tyler-Ruthton from approximately 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
"They (the team members) had ran back to the school for someone to contact 911," Tyler Police Chief AJ Anderson wrote in an email to Bring Me The News.
Tyler PD, Fire and ambulance services responded to the school and performed CPR before Waltz was taken to Avera Tyler Hospital and pronounced dead.
Anderson said it's common for bus drivers to remain on the bus and keep the vehicle running during the winter. Waltz was alone on the bus and no contact was made with her until the girls team tried to get back on the bus, according to Anderson.
"Jeannie worked as a paraprofessional at the MACCRAY High School and later started driving bus for the district," her obituary says. "She loved interacting with the kids and having great co-workers only added value to the job she loved."
