The mother of a University of New Orleans student is pushing for answers after her daughter, with no reported history of drug use, was left unresponsive at a New Orleans hospital with a toxic amount of fentanyl in her system.

Ciaya Whetstone, 21, arrived February 19, 2022, at New Orleans East Hospital just before 7 a.m., alive but unresponsive with blue skin. Minutes later, she was pronounced dead.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Ciaya was with an Uber driver for hours before her death. The unidentified driver dropped her off at the hospital, then left without giving information on what happened to her or leaving his name.

Prior that evening, Ciaya, a psychology student, went to parades in Metairie with friends. She then called for an Uber at around 1 a.m.

Her mother, Miranda Whetstone, told “Crime Stories” host Nancy Grace that Ciaya first had the Uber driver take her home to check on her dog; she hen told her roommate that she was leaving again with the driver, who was supposed to help her find her car.

Another friend who called Ciaya on the night in question said he overheard the driver ask Ciaya, “do you like to party?” Ciaya then told the friend that she would call him back, but that never happened.

The case was closed in February 2022, after the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office determined Ciaya died of an accidental overdose. Miranda reiterated that Ciaya didn’t take drugs and had no history of it; she now wants to know what happened in the Uber that led to her death, but says she hasn’t been provided additional information.

Miranda has subsequently filed a lawsuit against both Uber and the driver, claiming that the company and driver showed disregard for human life, and that the driver took the victim to an undisclosed location before dumping her off at the hospital.

“Like she was trash, basically, like she was just trash,” Miranda said, referring to how her daughter was dropped off at the hospital. “My heart is broken. It is absolutely broken. She is worth more than that….I’ll never over this.”

Medical Examiner and toxicologist, Dr. William Morrone, who obtained a copy of the toxicology report, said Ciaya was found with 39 nanograms of fentanyl in her system, and “you only need 3 (nanograms) to die.”

“Prior to her drop-off, if she could have been brought sooner, or any kind of intervention…that is the key to getting a different outcome,” he said. “We have Narcan everywhere in America. It’s with the police, it’s with the fire department.”

Narcan, also known as Naloxone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a medication used to “help people who are overdosing on an opioid.”

Morrone added that the fluid build-up found in Ciaya’s lungs likely happened while she was still with the Uber driver.

“She is naive [to drugs and drug use],” Morrone explained. “In a naive state, you are more likely to experience a toxic overdose from a drug. She was not dependent…There is a chance that she was a target of a predator.”

Miranda told Grace that the case has never been made a priority by investigators. Meanwhile, she continues to push for communication with police, who still have her phone and have not disclosed anything else in the investigation.

“No one has been charged, no one has been arrested, nothing is happening in the case,” Grace said. “At the least, at the very least…this is a voluntary manslaughter charge.”

Listen to the full episode below.

“Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” on Fox Nation is also a national radio show on SiriusXM channel 111, airing for two hours daily starting at 12 p.m. EST. You can also subscribe and download the daily podcasts at iHeart Podcasts.

[Feature Photo courtesy of Miranda Whetstone]