Former School Bus Driver Allegedly Steals Bus, Tries to Run Old Route

SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. — A school bus driver who recently resigned after being captured on video using her phone while driving her bus was arrested on Friday for allegedly stealing her old bus and trying to drive her former route, police said.

The driver, identified as Sherry James by Smokey Barn News, had been recorded by a student as she was using her cell phone behind the wheel on Oct. 23 and 24, as previously reported. She was suspended from the district on Oct. 25 and resigned on Oct. 28.

According to a statement from the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office, obtained by Smokey Barn News,  James was detained by officers who had received a call from a current Robertson County Schools bus driver. The driver reported that James had taken a school bus from East Robertson High School. A school resource officer with the Sheriff’s Office found and stopped James a short distance from the school, according to the statement, where she was picking up students.

James was charged by the Sheriff’s Office with aggravated criminal trespassing and unauthorized use of an automobile. She was charged by the Tennessee Highway Patrol with use of an electronic device by a school bus driver, according to the statement.

Robertson County Schools said in a statement, obtained by Smokey Barn News, that James drove the bus about one-half of a mile and that the school resource officer boarded the bus when she reached the first stop on the route before the bus could move with any students on board.

Originally posted on School Bus Fleet