Loaded gun, marijuana found on school bus; driver arrested

A school-bus driver who was hailed as a hero six years ago when she saved the lives of 22 children after a traffic accident was arrested Tuesday afternoon after authorities said they found marijuana and a loaded handgun on her bus.

Cheryl Mooring, 52, of Spanaway, was arrested just before picking up children at the end of the school day, said Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer. He said her blood-alcohol content was above the state's legal limit of .08 percent.

The arrest came after Bethel School District officials had received an anonymous tip about the longtime bus driver, he said.

Deputies found a loaded .40-caliber handgun underneath Mooring's seat and several packaged baggies of marijuana stashed in the bus first-aid kit, Troyer said.

Mooring was booked into the Pierce County Jail for investigation of unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm on school property and drug possession. She was not arrested for investigation of drunken driving because she wasn't driving when deputies found her, Troyer said.

Investigators are looking into how long Mooring had carried a weapon and drugs while behind the wheel of a school bus, Troyer said.

A spokesman for the Bethel School District could not be reached for comment. Mooring has been a bus driver for nearly 17 years.

Mooring was honored by the State Patrol and the Bethel School District for quick thinking after a Ford Bronco smashed head-on into her bus on Jan. 8, 2001. The Bronco driver was killed.

One of Mooring's legs was pinned beneath the dashboard of the burning bus and her vision blinded by smoke, but she managed to pull herself free, feel her way through the bus and count all of the children by touch. She led all 22 students to safety.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com