A Nevada mother has filed a federal lawsuit against a local school district, alleging that her eight-year-old son died after a school employee failed to recognize that he was choking and sent him alone to a bathroom instead of calling for help.
Cruzito Ruiz, a third-grade student at Bass Elementary School in Clark County, collapsed at school on February 25, 2025, after choking on a piece of pineapple during lunch, according to the complaint filed on March 3 by his mother, Amanda Corbala.
The lawsuit alleges Cruzito began choking in the school cafeteria around 11:20 a.m. and showed visible signs of distress while trying to get help.
But a school employee, who was required to have CPR and AED training, did not check the child’s airway, alert the school nurse, or call for emergency assistance, according to the complaint. Instead, the complaint says Cruzito was directed to go to the boys’ bathroom.
Several minutes later, students found Cruzito unconscious on the bathroom floor. According to the complaint, he had “collapsed and turned blue” by the time other staff were alerted.
The lawsuit argues that the school employee’s alleged actions limited Cruzito’s access to “adult assistance, immediate supervision, and timely emergency intervention, including CPR and Heimlich maneuvers.”
The boy’s mother is seeking damages for alleged civil rights violations and the loss of companionship and society, though the lawsuit does not specify an amount.
Still images from security camera footage detailed in the complaint shows the boy attempting to slap his own back and seeking assistance from a friend before approaching a school employee on the day of the incident.
“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. It was a fellow student who finally got the attention of the school employee, who he told Cruzito was feeling sick, according to the filing.
Attorneys for the family argue that sending the child away from the cafeteria separated him from adult supervision and immediate medical assistance during a choking emergency.
When first responders arrived, they removed “a large piece of pineapple” from Cruzito’s airway during a finger sweep, the lawsuit states.
The boy was taken to a hospital, where doctors determined he had suffered an anoxic brain injury caused by cardiac arrest following a choking episode.
Cruzito never regained consciousness and died on March 2, 2025, according to the complaint.
“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 Independent reached out to the Clark County School District, but a spokesperson responded, saying “the district does not comment on pending litigation.”
