A university student has died six hours after she was dropped off unresponsive at a hospital following a night out with friends.
Ciaya Jordan Whetstone, 21, was brought to New Orleans hospital at 7am on Saturday and was pronounced dead an hour later.
She had reportedly been out earlier that night at a pre-Mardi Gras Carnival parade in New Orleans with a friend.
The 21-year-old, who was a business administration junior at the University of New Orleans, later met up with some other friends at a bar after the parade, before being driven to her boyfriend's home in Harahan.
During the middle of the night, Ciaya decided to call an Uber to take her to her apartment to check on her dog, Zoe.
Her roommate, Reese White, said that Ciaya entered the apartment with her Uber driver and then told her she was going “go find her car".
Reese told WWLTV: 'She said, "This is my friend, Reese. I just met him." I said, "You need to stop getting in the car with strangers," but she said he was her Uber driver.'
She added that Ciaya appeared drunk, and that she tried to convince her to stay home, but the student insisted that the Uber driver was 'her friend,' and that she needed to go find her car.
One of Ciaya's other friends, Robert Torres, later rang her at around 1.30am on Saturday morning where he heard the driver ask her: "Do you like to party?"
It is unclear who dropped the girl off at 7am at the hospital, but police say she arrived in a private car.
A spokesperson for Uber said the company has temporarily disabled the driver's access pending the outcome of an investigation.
In a statement to MailOnline, they said: 'Our thoughts are with Ciaya Whetstone’s family as they grieve the loss of their daughter.'
'We stand ready to assist law enforcement with their investigation.'
The girl's stepdad shared how "shocked" the family are and how they have "got a tough few days ahead of us".
The University officials said that Ciaya was due to graduate in 2023.
School president John Nicklow said in a statement: “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.
“We are offering counselling services to students and employees who need support."
