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UNO student died from fentanyl poisoning after Uber ride, coroner's office says

1 year 11 months 1 week ago Thursday, April 21 2022 Apr 21, 2022 April 21, 2022 1:30 PM April 21, 2022 in News
Source: WWLTV

NEW ORLEANS - A student that died under unknown circumstances after she disappeared with a rideshare driver following her first Mardi Gras parade apparently died of fentanyl poisoning and ethanol intoxication, the coroner's office told WWLTV.

Ciaya Whetstone was at a New Orleans bar with friends following the parade Feb. 19 and reportedly left with an Uber driver to go back to her apartment. According to Whetstone's roommate, Whetstone went home, changed clothes and left the apartment again with the Uber driver. 

The timeline following their departure is unclear. Whetstone was later brought to a hospital in a private vehicle that same night and was pronounced dead. 

Whetstone's family has been pressing for answers since her death. 

"No information from the police. [...] No information from Uber on the background of this driver, his route," said Atlanta-based attorney L. Chris Stewart. "They don't know if she was sexually assaulted. They don't know if she was drugged. They don't know anything."

No further information related to the investigation has been made publicly available.

Whetman's family legal team released the following statement regarding to coroner's report.

The family of Ciaya Whetstone is saddened by the information contained in the coroner’s report regarding her cause of death and distraught that their daughter may have been the victim of a spiked substance which is becoming all too common. 

This coroner’s report simply confirmed what we already suspected: she died of an overdose and her Uber driver failed to take appropriate action. 

We are waiting for law enforcement and Uber to offer additional details that will provide this family with the real information they need.

They want to know what the Uber driver did as he witnessed a passenger dying, and why he never called 911 as he witnessed a medical emergency. Uber still has not released any information to the family, so we are forced to file our lawsuit.

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