An incident report filed by the Dunwoody Police Department revealed extensive and unsuccessful live-saving efforts made by school officials, EMTs, and hospital personnel on a Dunwoody High School student who died on May 6.
The student, 15-year-old Mia Dieguez, died after allegedly ingesting a Fentanyl-laced Percocet that was given to her by another student, according to her family. Police and school officials, however, have not confirmed her cause of death. A minor, reportedly a classmate of Dieguez, has been arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct.
A report filed by Dunwoody Officer Michael Shaw, obtained by Rough Draft through an open records request, said he arrived at the school at 12:48 p.m. in reference to an unconscious student who was not breathing.
Upon arrival, Shaw was taken to a classroom where Dieguez was laying on the ground being attended by the school’s nurse and the school’s resource officers.
Shaw said he was told that that an automated external defibrillator had been deployed as well as two doses of Narcan, a drug used commonly to reverse the effects of an overdose by blocking the effects of opioids.
“Upon checking Mia’s wrist, I did not detect a pulse. I immediately began performing CPR before DeKalb County Fire and Rescue arrived and took over life-saving measures,” Shaw said in his report.
An ambulance also arrived on the scene shortly after, Shaw said in his report.
Shaw said he spoke with Dieguez’s teacher, who said she had entered the classroom earlier that day “appearing unwell and sickly.”
The teacher also remarked that Dieguez “typically slept in class, so when class began, Mia rested her head on her desk.”
After requesting to go to the nurse’s office for water, the 10th grader returned to the class, relocated to another desk, and “rested her head again for the duration of the class.”
The teacher, the report said, assumed that Dieguez was sleeping. It was only when the lunch bell rang that students attempting to wake her noticed “her yellowing skin and lack of breathing,” the report said.
The school was placed under lockdown while personnel attended to Dieguez, according to the report.
The victim was transported by ambulance to Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital, accompanied by Shaw. Further attempts to revive Dieguez proved unfruitful, and she was pronounced dead at 1:40 p.m.
Shaw’s report said the investigation had been handed over to the DeKalb County School Police, which has not yet responded to messages left by Rough Draft and an open records request.
Dieguez’s family started a GoFundMe to pay for her funeral, which will be held at an future date. As of May 8, it had exceeded its goal of $20,000.