Mom rescues boys from bus-stop bruin

MISSOULA (AP) — A Missoula woman’s quick thinking saved her friend’s 6-year-old sons from a potential encounter with a black bear as they waited for the school bus in a residential area west of Missoula.

Candace Gama saw Blake and Braden Williams standing on the sidewalk Thursday morning and then spotted a bear about 20 yards away. Gama drove her car between the boys and the bear and yelled for them to get into the car.

When they didn’t respond quickly enough, Gama says she grabbed them by their backpacks and threw them in the car.

The boys’ mother, Kim Williams, says the boys’ grandfather was ready to confront Gama when he heard her scream: “Bear! Bear!”

Blake and Braden say they weren’t scared. Gama’s 5-year-old daughter, Allison, said her mom was the hero of the day.