Caught on video: School superintendent hits 12-year-old with his car

FARMINGTON, Mo. (KMOV/Gray News) - A Missouri mother believes an incident in which her 12-year-old son was hit by a car is being swept under the rug. The driver who hit him was the local school district’s superintendent.

“It’s disgusting. I mean, it really is,” said the victim’s mother, who wanted to remain anonymous.

At first, it was just another Tuesday for 12-year-old Nathan riding bikes with his friends, including Stevie DeBold.

“We ride almost every day when we get the chance to,” Stevie said.

Ring doorbell camera footage from last Tuesday shows the pre-teens riding their bikes until a white Jeep comes into the frame, hitting Nathan. The moment of impact is seen and heard on camera.

“I was freaking out,” Stevie said.

“His friend came running in the house that he had gotten hit by a car, so I jumped up and just ran,” the victim’s mother told KMOV.

The video shows the driver, Farmington R-7 Schools Superintendent Matt Ruble, whose identity was later confirmed by police. He stops after hitting Nathan and gets out of the Jeep.

“Mr. Ruble said he wasn’t worried about his car. He would replace the bike. Is my son OK? I looked at Nathan and said ‘Are you OK? Are you OK?’ I said, ‘Nathan, can you walk? We’re going to the hospital.’ And that was the extent of our conversation,” the victim’s mother said.

The boy’s mother said she’s heard nothing from the superintendent since the accident. She went to file a police report the next day but was told her son was in the wrong.

“I decided to seek legal counsel, who then initially told me to go back and force them to file a police report,” the victim’s mother said.

Farmington Police Chief Rick Baker, who didn’t want to go on camera, said there was a report filed. He also said Nathan failed to stop at the stop sign, and no charges are being filed.

“I don’t feel like they’ve handled it properly because if they did, they would’ve taken a written statement and the pictures we had of my son at the hospital. They would’ve contacted the children who were playing with him to get their side of the story and not leave it so one-sided,” the victim’s mother said.

“It makes me feel angry. I mean, he just hit my friend, and I don’t think it’s right,” Stevie said.

KMOV called Farmington schools to speak with Ruble but never heard back.