Loved ones of a 15-year-old girl who collapsed and died inside an Atlanta high school this week said Tuesday that one of her classmates was arrested in connection to her death.
Mia Dieguez died Monday after going into cardiac arrest at Dunwoody High School, with first responders unable to revive her despite school authorities placing the campus on lockdown to facilitate medical attention to her.
Dieguez’s sister, Pamela Dieguez, posted to Facebook that her sister died from an overdose of drugs laced with fentanyl—the highly deadly synthetic opioid that was responsible for 200 American deaths a day in 2022.
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Mia’s death has rocked her classmates and community, with Pamela posting that she hopes “this is an eye opener for a lot of families when it comes to kids doing drugs.”
“We unfortunately lost our sister Mia to the epidemic of fentanyl laced drugs bought from someone at her school,” a GoFundMe for Mia read on Tuesday. “Mia was a very loving and caring person who had a bright future ahead of her with plans of enlisting in the military to help out at home. It brings us great pain to family and friends & she will be greatly missed.”
In a post announcing an arrest was made, Pamela said her family is pleased to be getting “justice for my baby sister.” She told Fox 5 that she received a call from authorities between noon and 1 p.m. Monday telling her that her sister was being rushed to a hospital and “wasn’t breathing good.”
DeKalb County School District Police confirmed to 11 Alive that a juvenile was arrested in connection to the death and is facing involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct charges.
The school’s principal, Tom Bass, wrote in a letter to students’ families on Monday that the tragedy played out while many students were taking end-of-year exams.
“Everyone reacts to death differently,” Bass added. “Our priority is respecting each other’s feelings and emotions. As a family, we encourage you to talk with your child about this incident to help them share their thoughts and reactions.”
