Cruzito Ruiz was found unresponsive in his elementary school bathroom and died several days later, according to a federal lawsuit
Credit: LAGOMARSINO LAW
NEED TO KNOW
- Cruzito Ruiz, an 8-year-old Nevada boy, died in March 2025 after choking on a piece of pineapple at an elementary school in Clark County, according to a federal lawsuit
- The complaint, filed by the boy’s mother in March 2026, alleges that a school employee failed to recognize obvious signs that Ruiz was choking and directed him to a bathroom instead of calling for help or performing CPR
- Ruiz collapsed at school on Feb. 25, 2025, and was rushed to a hospital, where he died on March 2, 2025
A Nevada mother is suing her local school district, alleging that a school official failed to notice that her son was choking, which she claims resulted in the child’s death.
Cruzito Ruiz, 8, was found unresponsive in a bathroom at Bass Elementary School in Clark County on Feb. 25, 2025, per a complaint that his mother, Amanda Corbala, filed more than a year later in the U.S. District Court on Tuesday, March 3.
Security camera footage from the day shows Ruiz in the school cafeteria, seemingly attempting to slap his own back and seeking assistance from a friend, at approximately 11:20 a.m. local time, per the complaint.
“While consciously choking, Cruzito stood up and approached a school official … signaling for help with his hands to his mouth and displaying obvious signs of physical distress,” the complaint states.
Credit: LAGOMARSINO LAW
The complaint further states that instead of providing CPR — which the school official was allegedly trained in — she directed Ruiz to go to “an isolated area in the boys’ bathroom.”
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The complaint states that the school official subsequently “did not radio for help, call for the school nurse, alert any nearby adult staff, or contact emergency services before directing Cruzito out of sight.”
Ruiz ultimately “collapsed and turned blue” in the restroom, and students notified other staff of his condition, per the complaint.
Paramedics were called to the scene and arrived approximately 15 minutes after the incident began, and they “removed a large piece of pineapple” following a finger sweep of Ruiz’s mouth and airway.
Ruiz was transported to a local hospital, where “he was diagnosed with an anoxic brain injury secondary to cardiac arrest” caused by a “choking episode on food,” per the complaint.
Ruiz never regained consciousness and was declared dead on March 2, 2025, per the lawsuit.
“His mother, Amanda, has been devastated by the premature, unnecessary, and unnatural loss of her beloved son,” the complaint states, adding that he “suffered extreme conscious pain, terror, and air hunger” for approximately five minutes while alone in the restroom.
The complaint argues that the school official’s alleged actions restricted Ruiz’s access to “adult assistance, immediate supervision, and timely emergency intervention, including CPR and Heimlich maneuvers.”
Ruiz family is now seeking “damages for civil rights violations, loss of companionship, society and grief,” per the complaint, though no specific amount is listed in the document
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, Farhan R. Naqvi and Andre M. Lagomarsino — legal counsel for Ruiz’s mother — said that the family “is heartbroken by the loss of their beloved Cruzito,” and “want to make sure it never happens again.”
“We intend to hold the Clark County School District accountable and will not rest until there is justice for Cruzito,” they continued, adding, “There will be no further statements at this time, and Cruzito’s family respectfully asks for privacy as they continue to mourn the loss of their child, nephew and brother.”
A representative for the Clark County School District told PEOPLE that “the District does not comment on pending litigation.”
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