Was the driver armed?
If he was he would be alive.
If he was working for the school district, he is probably not allowed to have weapons on the bus. I just finished school bus training to be a sub for the local school district. I wonder what I would do in a similar situation - and pray nothing remotely like it happens.
I think you know the answer to that. If the driver was armed the kidnapper would have chosen another, more risky method. This was the easy way.