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NC State bus driver died of natural causes

A North Carolina State University campus bus driver who died after complaining of fumes on the bus she was driving died of natural causes, according to an autopsy report released Friday.

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Joann Sewell, Wolfline driver who died
RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina State University campus bus driver who died after complaining of fumes on the bus she was driving died of natural causes, according to an autopsy report released Friday.

Joann Sewell, 50, died Dec. 17, three days after she stopped the Wolfline bus she was driving and asked a man on the street to call 911.

Sewell's daughter said her mother had complained of fumes on her bus but that dispatchers told her to continue with her route.

Family members told WRAL News in February that preliminary autopsy results showed that Sewell died of carbon monoxide poisoning, but the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner couldn't confirm the results at the time because preliminary results aren't released to the public.

The final autopsy report found pneumonia was to blame for Sewell's death.

Cincinnati-based First Transit, which operates the N.C. State bus system, said in February that air tests were normal and that an audit of its bus fleet found no safety issues.

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