Diksha Sundriyal
Apple TV+’s ‘The Lost Bus’ stars Matthew McConaughey as a bus driver named Kevin McKay. When a deadly wildfire breaks out and slowly makes its way towards the town of Paradise, California, he is tasked with the responsibility of transporting 22 children to safety from their school to another drop-off point. He is joined in this endeavour by a schoolteacher named Mary Ludwig. She tries to keep the children calm while Kevin drives through the hellscape of the intensifying wildfire. The film captures the pressures of his personal struggles as he tries to navigate his way through an impossible situation, doing justice to the real-life Kevin McKay, who saved many lives with his heroic act.
Kevin McKay’s Desire to Do Better Brought Him Back to Paradise
Kevin McKay’s life story in ‘The Lost Bus’ is based on the events narrated in Lizzie Johnson’s non-fiction novel, ‘Paradise.’ According to the book, Kevin McKay moved to Paradise, California, with his family when he was twelve. He was enrolled in Paradise High, where he joined the football team. He graduated in 1995 with the hope of attending the University of Oregon, but the inability to afford the tuition led him to California State University in Chico, California. There, he enrolled in a pre-med degree, but two years into it, his girlfriend got pregnant, and in October 1997, their daughter, Melanie, was born. The pressure of taking care of his family impacted his education, and six months later, he dropped out of college.
A few years later, he started working at Walgreens, where he became store manager. The pay was good, but he had to travel across Northern California, which kept him on the road a lot. Around the same time, he also got his pharmacy technician license. He tried to get the company to transfer him to their store in Paradise, but when that didn’t happen, he decided to change the course of his life. By that time, he had been divorced twice and also had a son, named Shaun, from his second marriage. He was dating a woman named Melanie and owned a house in Paradise, which he had fixed up himself.
In 2016, his father was diagnosed with cancer and died about a year later. His mother was diagnosed with melanoma around the same time. This, paired with his own desire to improve his life, led Kevin to leave his job. He planned to enroll in Butte Community College and then transfer to California State University in Chico to get a diploma, so that he could become a history teacher. At the same time, he also needed to take care of his family, so when he came across the job opportunity as a bus driver for the Paradise Unified School District, he accepted it.
Kevin McKay’s Courage in the Face of Danger Saved Many Lives
Kevin had been driving kids to and from Ponderosa Elementary School for a few months when the Camp Fire broke out. That week had been particularly trying for him. His dog, Elvis, who had cancer, was euthanised. His son, Shaun, caught stomach flu, and Kevin stayed up all night caring for him. The next morning, he had planned to return to his son as soon as he was freed up at work. He had also become aware of the wildfire, so he evacuated his mother, his son, and his girlfriend to a hotel in Chico. Once he dropped the children off at school, he was on his way back, but then he received an emergency call, revealing that 22 children needed to be dropped off at a different location.
Kevin was the closest driver to the school at the time, so he answered the call and took on the responsibility. When he arrived at the school and the children got on board, he told Mary Ludwig, the schoolteacher, to join them so that she could keep the children calm. Mary was joined by another teacher, Abbie Davis, and together, they went through what Kevin later described as heading “into Mordor.” The traffic, the poor visibility, and the fires on both sides of the road made it increasingly difficult to move forward. They were stuck at a snail’s pace. Soon, it became clear that there was no alternative but to go through it.
Kevin and the teachers tried to keep the children safe. They paired up little kids with big kids, gave them damp rags torn from Kevin’s shirt to prevent smoke inhalation, and provided them with water to prevent illness from the heat. Kevin also told the teachers to prepare a manifest, in the worst-case scenario, so everyone on board could be identified. After five hours of toiling through the road, Kevin managed to get the bus out of the fire’s way and to safer grounds. He and the teachers stayed with the children until every child was reunited with their parents. Abbie and Mary’s husbands expressed their gratitude to Kevin and hugged him so hard that they nearly lifted him off the ground. The teachers described Kevin as the “bus driver from heaven,” but he stayed modest amidst all the praise. Kevin and his loved ones made it out safely. However, his house was burned down.
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Kevin McKay is Serving His Community as a School Teacher Today
Now in his late 40s, Kevin McKay lives in Chico, California. As planned, he got his teaching diploma and is now working as a secondary teacher at Fair View High School in Chico. Discussing the 2018 fire and his journey on the bus, he revealed that he had been frightened throughout the ordeal, but he was glad that all the safety protocols he had paid attention to during his training had served him well. He also expressed his gratitude and admiration towards the firefighters who were going in the opposite direction to curb the fire.
Kevin appeared on several news channels and TV programs, including CBS News and ‘The Steve Show,’ to discuss his experience. Speaking of the Apple TV+ movie, he said that a film being made about his life was a “super surreal” experience. Calling Matthew McConaughey one of his favourite actors, he said that he was excited about the actor playing him in the movie. He also revealed that during the filming process, McConaughey’s son, who plays Shaun in the movie, became friends with his son, the real-life Shaun, and the two remain in touch with each other. Kevin hopes that the film makes the viewers believe in the message of “normal people helping other people” and shows them “how important it is that our humanity comes out and that we sacrifice for others.”
Kevin is dedicated to his job as an educator. He is an active member of the Fair View Leadership Team, through which he works to improve the school’s campus culture, among other things. In November 2024, the team organised a fundraiser in conjunction with Round Table Pizza, where a fraction of the sales was donated to the group. Earlier that year, they also organised a bake sale to raise funds, which were used to help the school’s students. He receives support from his community for the assignments and projects he creates for his students, making learning fun and creative for them. In February 2025, he raised funds for an assignment to help his students “connect with the modern weaponry used in World War II” by building scale models of the machines of their choice.
Above all, he loves to spend time with his family and friends. He also enjoys traveling with his girlfriend, Cari Green, who is “the love of his life,” as well as his friends and his son, Shaun, who is a college student. He occasionally participates in adventurous activities. He spent Easter 2025 enjoying ATV riding with his group at Sand Mountain, which is 20 miles east of Fallon, Nevada. He has revisited the place several times over the years. In his free time, he enjoys reading books and listening to audiobooks, a habit he developed while working at Walgreens. He also harbors a love for dogs. Sadly, his dog, Harlow, passed away in April 2025.
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