Human Interest

Family Hopes New Orleans Student 'Didn't Suffer' Before Being Dropped Off at Hospital and Pronounced Dead

"We just want answers and wanna know what happened," said one of the student's cousins

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Published on February 24, 2022 03:59 PM

With so many questions left unanswered surrounding New Orleans student Ciaya Jordan Whetstone's death, her family is praying for answers.

Whetstone, 21, was dropped off at a hospital via "private conveyance" just before 7 a.m. on Saturday, the New Orleans Police Department said in a statement according to NBC affiliate WYFF. Emergency medical personnel declared her "deceased" soon afterwards.

The student's "unclassified death" is now the subject of an ongoing police investigation.

"Ciaya had been at a Mardi Gras parade, and there's just a big time gap until when [the driver] dropped her off," her cousin Grace Sutton previously told ABC station WCIV.

"So we don't really know. I just pray she didn't suffer and I just hope we get the justice she deserves," Sutton added."

Sutton's sister Mari told the outlet that more than anything, "we just want answers and wanna know what happened."

The student was brought to New Orleans East Hospital around 6:40 a.m., reported ABC affiliates WGNO and WCIV, citing the NOPD.

Upon arrival, "she was blue and her pupils were fixed and dilated," police wrote in the report, per WGNO. Authorities also said she had "no obvious signs of physical injury." She was pronounced dead at 7:07 a.m, according to WGNO and WCIV.

Police said in the report that they were told the driver who dropped her off was driving a 2019 Toyota Camry and stated "he was an Uber driver," reported WGNO. When they visited the man's last known address he was reportedly not home.

A co-worker of Whetstone's said in a Facebook post that her friend got into an Uber around 1 a.m. on Saturday.

Another friend, Juliett Orr, told the New Orleans Advocate that Whetstone called for an Uber after going out for Mardi Gras the previous night. Orr said that at one point in the evening, Whetstone decided to get an Uber to check on her dog.

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Uber has launched an investigation and deactivated the account of the driver who picked her up.

"Our thoughts are with Ciaya Whetstone's family as they grieve the loss of their daughter," a spokesperson for the company tells PEOPLE in a statement. "We stand ready to assist law enforcement with their investigation."

Following news of her death, University of New Orleans President John Nicklow mourned the student's death.

"As a University, few things are more challenging than dealing with the sadness of the death of a student," the statement read. "Our thoughts are with Ciaya's family and friends."