FRESNO, Calif. — Frank Edward “Ed” Ray, a school bus driver who became a hero for helping 26 California students escape after three kidnappers buried them in a van in 1976, has died. He was 91.

Ray died Thursday from complications of cirrhosis of the liver, said his granddaughter, Robyn Gomes.

Ray was the only adult on board when his school bus packed with summer school kids was hijacked near Fresno. They were later buried in the van in a quarry, where Ray led them to safety after he and two older boys dug their way out as the kidnappers slept. No one was hurt.

The dramatic incident made national headlines and was turned into a TV movie, “They’ve Taken Our Children: The Chowchilla Kidnapping.”

The driver and children all came from the small farm town of Chowchilla and nearby Dairyland.