Uni student dropped off dead at hospital after taking Uber
US police are investigating the death of a 21-year-old uni student who was dropped off unresponsive at a hospital – hours after taking an Uber.
A 21-year-old student at the University of New Orleans was dropped off unresponsive at a hospital and was declared dead — after taking an Uber following a night out on the town with friends during Mardi Gras, the New York Post reports. .
Ciaya Jordan Whetstone, of Bamberg, South Carolina, attended Mardi Gras parades Friday with friend Juliet Orr before she went to a bar with some other pals, the New Orleans Advocate reported.
Whetstone was later driven by a friend to her boyfriend’s home in the suburb of Hanrahan — then took an Uber to her apartment in Gentilly to check on her dog in the middle of the night, Orr told the news outlet.
Her roommate, Reese White, said that Whetstone told her she was going with the driver — whom she described as a friend — to “go find her car.”
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“I tried to convince her not to go,” White told the paper Sunday.
Another pal, Roberto Torres, said that when he called Whetstone around 1:30am. Saturday, he overheard the driver ask her, “Do you like to party?”
She reportedly told Torres that she’d call him back — but never did.
Whetstone was dropped off about 7am at a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to the Advocate, which reported that it was unclear who dropped her off there.
Police said she arrived via “private conveyance,” a term used in cases where an ambulance isn’t involved.
No cause for her death has been released.
Chris Ferrand, Whetstone’s stepfather, told the outlet that the family is “still in such a shock,” adding, “We’ve got a tough few days ahead of us.”
Whetstone’s close friend Julia Brooker described her as “the most uplifting and loving and hopeful person that I’ve met.”
“She’s never talked bad about anybody,” she said.
Dawn Gegenheimer, who identified herself as Whetstone’s co-worker in a Facebook post on Saturday, wrote: “She had the cutest East Coast accent you ever heard.”
University officials said Whetstone was a business administration junior who was set to graduate in 2023.
“As a University, few things are more challenging than dealing with the sadness of the death of a student. Our thoughts are with Ciaya’s family and friends,” school president John Nicklow said in a statement, according to WVUE.
“We are offering counselling services to students and employees who need support,” he added.
Fellow students expressed their shock about the death.
“Hearing stuff like that, about a fellow student, exacerbates that fear and anxiety of leaving my house,” UNO junior Amanda Nadeau told WJBF, referring to a recent spike in crime.
Another junior, Maddie Sampay, said: “Hearing things that happened, especially to women nowadays, it’s just scary going anywhere by yourself, so I always have someone with me.”
Whetstone’s cousin Emily Carter told WIS-TV she “was like this bright light in a dark place. She was always happy. She never met a stranger.”
“That girl was so brave. If there was something that she wanted, she would go get it. I mean, she moved by herself from little swamp to New Orleans,” she said.
“It makes me feel happy to know how loved she was, and it makes me happy to know that she impacted people so greatly,” Carter added.
The Post has reached out to New Orleans police for comment.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.
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