How accurate is The Lost Bus? Inside the life of real bus driver Kevin McKay after heroic wildfire rescue
The Lost Bus is now available to stream on Apple TV+ and tells the inspiring true story of a California bus driver
Lucas Hill-Paul Content Editor
11:50, 03 Oct 2025
The real-life story that inspired Apple TV+’s new survival film, The Lost Bus, has seen its hero embark on a fresh career path in recent years.
Featuring Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera, the gripping drama directed by Paul Greengrass tells the tale of a courageous bus driver who rescued 22 children from a catastrophic California fire.
The full account is detailed in the 2021 book Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire by Lizzie Johnson, which caught the attention of actress Jamie Lee Curtis and led her to join the project as a producer.
After a limited cinema release in the US, The Lost Bus is now accessible for global audiences to stream on Apple TV+ from today, Friday, 3rd October.
But what has become of the actual driver Kevin McKay since then, and how faithfully does the film portray the true events?, reports the Mirror.
Apple TV+’s new thriller is based on an inspiring true story(Image: APPLE TV+)READ MORE: The Lost Bus cast as Hollywood icons joined by And Just Like That star and real-life familyREAD MORE: Netflix adds raunchy 14-year-old comedy that’s ‘offensive on many levels’
Kevin McKay’s story
As portrayed in Greengrass’ film, Kevin left his hometown of Paradise, California after a row with his father, only to return 25 years later when he received news from his mother that his dad was on his deathbed.
Sadly, Kevin didn’t manage to reach home in time to make amends with his father, who passed away in the summer of 2018.
This devastating loss spurred him on to better his life, both for the sake of his elderly mother and to be a more supportive father to his teenage son.
Determined to transform his life, he left his secure position at Walgreens and returned to university to pursue a teaching qualification, taking on work as a school bus driver to cover his tuition costs.
Bus driver Kevin McKay saved 22 children in the 2018 Camp Fire(Image: GETTY)
Yet, merely hours following his regular drop-off on 8th November 2018, a wildfire began ravaging the county and he received an urgent call from Ponderosa Elementary School to evacuate 22 children whose parents couldn’t collect them.
Alongside school teacher Mary Ludwig and kindergarten teacher Abbie Gerspacher-Davis, they navigated 30 miles through the blazing inferno over five hours with only one water bottle and a single fire extinguisher, ultimately ensuring every child was safely returned to their families.
Matthew McConaughey portrays real-life bus driver Kevin McKay(Image: APPLE TV+)
What is the real Kevin doing now?
Those moved by Kevin’s tale as portrayed in The Lost Bus will be delighted to learn that he completed his studies at California State University-Chico, obtaining both a history degree and his teaching qualifications.
Now aged 47, he reportedly serves as an educator at Fair View High School in Chico.
Kevin recently discussed with Action News the experience of seeing his story transformed into a film.
“Hearing that it was going to become a Hollywood motion picture was surreal, but it was also an honour,” he shared.
Kevin speaks to CNN after the heroic rescue(Image: CNN)
“I felt very included, I got to share my perspective and a lot of that perspective made it into the film.”
Regarding his personal life, Kevin remains with his long-term partner Cari Green, whom he calls “the love of his life”. The pair enjoy adventures together, including mountain exploration in dune buggies, as documented on his Instagram account.
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How accurate is The Lost Bus?
Whilst the specifics of Kevin’s rescue remain fairly faithful to what actually happened, some moments have been left out or heightened for dramatic effect to maintain viewer engagement.
For instance, nursery teacher Abbie doesn’t feature in the movie, which instead concentrates on the collaborative efforts between Kevin and Mary.
Some aspects of the rescue have also been amplified to increase the tension in this survival thriller, particularly regarding Kevin’s family’s location.
The real Kevin is now a school teacher in Chico, California(Image: GETTY)
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Whilst the movie shows the driver being unaware of his mother’s, son’s and girlfriend’s safety as the blaze advanced, the actual Kevin had already made sure they were safe and settled in a local hotel that morning.
He explained to CNN: “That freed me up to focus completely on this terrifying situation.”
Although the movie takes some creative licence, in his chat with Action News, the real Kevin emphasised that both Apple and director Greengrass were determined to make the film feel as “real and authentic” as possible, meaning several crucial scenes have been taken straight from his own recollection of the frightening ordeal.
The Lost Bus is available to stream on Apple TV+.
