13-year-old dies after seizure on school bus, South Carolina district says

A 13-year-old has died after having a seizure on a South Carolina school bus, officials say.

Kirsten Volzka was riding on the bus driven by her grandmother last week when she experienced cardiac arrest, which is the sudden loss of a heartbeat, news outlets report. The medical incident led to oxygen deprivation and a seizure, Jane Harrison, assistant superintendent for Anderson School District One, told WHNS.

Emergency crews tried to resuscitate Kirsten before rushing her to a Prisma Health hospital in Greenville, officials say. She was on life support until her death on Friday, according to a news release from the Anderson County Coroner’s Office.

Officials say Kirsten was in the eighth grade at Wren Middle School in Piedmont, roughly 15 miles southwest of Greenville. The teen was a cheerleader and enjoyed roller skating, her aunt Cindy Volzka said, according to WHNS.

“She was just so happy and was just so full of life, and I think that’s her mission and that’s what she wants,” Kirsten’s mother, Kayla Kelley, told WYFF. “She wants the world to be a better place, she wants us all to be closer and love each other and take in the things that are important and spend time with each other.”

After Kirsten’s death, her name was spelled out along a fence near the school, WYFF reported. School officials and family members said the teenager had an undetected health problem that led to the heart condition, according to news outlets.

The student’s autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday, the coroner’s office said. Anderson School District One didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.