The Sweet Hereafter Trivia Quiz

Answer: School bus driver

Dolores Driscoll believed that it was a dog that did it. When she was driving down the road the morning of the accident, she saw a blur no larger than a dog stop on the road and she swerved out of the way to avoid it. She recalled the events prior to this moment: she started her vehicle, a fifty-seat school bus for the local schoolchildren; she drove to their driveways; the Lamston kids boarded and sat in the middle of the bus, Bear Otto, an adopted Abenaki, sat in the back; she continued along her normal route, the same route she'd refined and traveled for decades. Passing by a local motel it began to snow. Dolores allowed the motel owner's son, Sean, to board the bus and spoke with his mother for a few minutes before she needed to continue on.

While crossing the road, Sean's mother (Risa) was nearly clipped by an oncoming car. Dolores was unable to get the license number so she continued onward.

Answer: Lydia

Dolores continued to Billy Ansel's house to pick up his children on the way through town; he followed along in his truck on the way to work. Dolores made her way, as usual, to Marlowe Road, the poorest part of the town of Sam Dent, to pick up the final children. Here, she saw the dog she supposes appeared before her at the time of the accident. It was a mangy dog which roamed the neighbourhood. She thought nothing of the dog as it first crossed the road but as she was taking the last stretch of road to the school, she swore that she saw a dog-- no, a blur-- something stop in the middle of the road. Acting upon this she turned the wheel right and hits the brakes. The bus began its tumult over the side of the road.

Before the crash happened, Billy Ansel was waving to his children and thinking about Risa Walker, the woman with whom he'd been sleeping. His thought soon turned back to his wife, Lydia, who passed away a few years earlier. He remembered their vacation to Jamaica and how she used to act around him.

Answer: Vietnam

Billy recalled the trip to Jamaica in more detail. On one occasion, he accidentally forgot his daughter, Jessica, at a Jamaican market and drove back to the family's rented vacation house without her. The ride back to the store, Billy claims, was the moment his domestic life became 'Vietnamized' and his heart began to harden. Four years later, he'd be the only member of his family still alive.

While others claimed that it was inevitable (through some sixth sense) Billy couldn't anticipate what happened.

When Lydia passed away he started to fall for Risa, who was already married to Wendell. The two of them would spent nights at her motel in Room 11, and their intimacy allowed him to feel human again after his loss. On the day of the bus accident, both of their lives were drained of meaning by the loss of their children.

It was as though they had all died that day. One thing was for certain though-- Billy was not up for consolation. He felt he was beyond helping, even from family members. All in all, Billy felt that a town that lost his children, and the people within it, lost its meaning.

Answer: False

Billy, coming to terms with the events in his life, turned away from the Christian ways of Sam Dent's citizens as he felt that death was the only reality. Visiting the bus left behind his garage, he imagined the voices of the children inside before he was approached by a man claiming to be a lawyer, Mitchell Stephens, Esq., who was working with the families of the victims. Frustrated, he sent the man away and visited Room 11 of the motel one last time to speak to Risa. They never met one another there again.

Mitchell Stephens was a negligence lawyer and he claimed that he didn't come to Sam Dent out of greed. Instead, he went out of his own personal anger, which had driven him for years in his line of work. His job was to head up to Sam Dent, find where corners were cut, and get people what was rightfully theirs. On his first day in Sam Dent, Mitchell took out a room in Risa's lodge not realizing that it was not only the town's sole place to stay but that Risa and her husband lost their child in the accident. Mitchell would stay here intermittently throughout his six month visit to Sam Dent's frigid wilderness and he would be the one to give Risa advice during her divorce proceedings. Of course, Mitchell dealt with child problems of his own; his daughter, addicted to drugs, had been scamming him for years. Her disobedience and her addiction had been ample fuel to the fire in his mind, driving him to lash out through his work.

Answer: Wanda Otto

Mitchell found his first clients in Risa and Wendell Walker, both of whom wanted revenge and money, mostly because they'd never had money. From them, Mitchell learned the details: the bus route, the other parents, the victims, the driver. He also learned that the driver, Dolores, was supporting a handicapped husband and was generally well-liked. In other words, she was a dead end for financial payout in court.

Next, Mitchell visited Hartley and Wanda Otto who lost their adopted son, Bear, in the accident. For the Ottos, it was clear that the only revenge they wanted was in the form of punishment for those who had done wrong; they didn't want the money. Mitchell had to tell them that it wasn't likely that anyone would go to jail, but he could pave the way for a safer future for their unborn child.

Visiting the site of the crash, Mitchell decided that his only hope was to side with Dolores and prove that she never exceeded the speed limit. To do this, however, he would need to ensure that Billy Ansel, the only true witness, did not accept his services.

Answer: He was her husband

Mitchell went out of his way not only to speak to Billy Ansel, but prevent him from wanting a lawyer of any sort. After planting the seeds of antagonism in Billy, Mitchell began the actual procedural work of the case and began his investigation.

A few days later, the funerals commenced. Mitchell didn't want to visit any of them, but on the final day he stopped into one of them to seek out Dolores Driscoll and get her on his side. Striking up a conversation, he convinced her that the crash was not her fault and in court, as long as Billy Ansel would confirm that she stayed under 55mph, she would be cleared of any suspicion. Dolores, however, decided to leave the decision of a court case in the hands of her disabled husband, Abbott, who apparently reasoned that she should not employ Mitchell or seek her innocence from twelve strangers.

That evening, Mitchell received a call from his daughter, Zoe, who claimed that she had contracted AIDS. He had no choice but to rush to New York City to find the truth, despite her drug addiction and their falling out.

Answer: She lost the use of her legs

After the accident, Nichole Burnell discovered that she would never walk again -- a survivor of the crash, she found herself forgetting the events that occurred and that she needed a wheelchair to get around. Returning to her home, she found that her parents had not only built her a new room, but had also properly furnished it for her arrival. Spying a new computer on her desk, she was told by her mother that their new lawyer, Mr. Stephens (Mitchell) had bought it for her and that they would be joining the class-action suit against the city.

Her principal brought work over for her and life resumed as normal; Nichole spent many days doing homework or watching TV. All the while she feared that her father would recommence his sexual abuse. Soon after, however, she realized that her father was now afraid of her. Because of her needing to make a statement for the lawyers, she now held his secret.

Answer: Billy Ansel

Nichole liked Mitchell when she first met him; he was the first person to talk to her as though she were a normal person. During his visit he simply assured her that despite the difficult questions she'd be asked, she'd just need to hold on and tell the truth. She affirmed that she would.

A number of months later, Nichole was informed that Billy Ansel would be stopping by her family's house and she couldn't face him. She decided to hide in her room out of shame, as she had babysat his kids and her siblings had survived when his own children didn't. She listened at the door when he came in to speak to her Mom and Dad about the lawsuits in town, trying to convince them to back away from theirs in order to stop others from doing the same. Unfortunately, their minds were set on winning their lawsuit and Billy couldn't stop them from the madness he felt the town was falling into.

Answer: False

One day in late summer, Nichole needed to head to the courthouse to give her deposition. She was glad to see Mr. Stephens there and he assured her that things would be just fine. The opposing lawyers began asking very basic questions, most of which were impersonal, but these moved along to questions about her life and the accident. Soon, Nichole claimed to be remembering things very clearly, much to Mr. Stephens' and her father's shock.

She claimed that a dog crossed in front of Dolores at the last second, that it was snowing, and that the bus was moving at exactly seventy-two miles per hour when it hit the barrier.

This instantly poked a hole in Mr. Stephens' case and ruined everyone's chance at winning a settlement. Nichole returns home with her father realizing that she had gotten what she wanted -- her parents didn't win the money and the town wouldn't collapse under the weight of its own greed. With fall already approaching, the fair arrived in Sam Dent. Nichole suggested that the family go this year and enjoy the day; it was already more than half a year after the tragic accident.

Answer: A demolition derby

Dolores wanted to attend the fall fair for Abbott's sake as he'd always enjoyed the demolition derby held at sundown. While she usually enjoyed the livestock part of the fair, this year they arrived early and missed it due to a rain storm. As such they headed straight to the racetrack. Dolores had kept to herself after the funerals had ended; she took jobs transporting tourists between hotels and airports in Lake Placid after her bus driving job ended and she hadn't spent much time in Sam Dent since.
Reaching the grandstands, no one offered to help Dolores lift Abbott and his wheelchair up to the top where he could see the track. She struggled until Billy Ansel, clearly intoxicated and sporting an uncharacteristic, new girlfriend, gladly offered to help her. Dolores noticed how much the accident had changed him from a noble man to the person he became. Dolores also recalled the divorce of Wendell and Risa Walker and the birth of the Ottos' new baby and how people couldn't fall apart if they had others to love.
Nichole and her family arrived at the derby to the applause of the spectators; Billy called her a town hero though Dolores didn't know why. He explained later that Nichole had ended the lawsuits in town by telling the lawyers that Dolores was driving at seventy-two miles per hour. Dolores was relieved by this as the weight on her for the past nine months was lifted; only four people would know the truth of the accident. Dolores, however, felt alone and separated from the rest of Sam Dent. After another heat at the derby, she decided to take Abbott home. This time, upon descending, spectators got up from their seats to help carry Abbott to the ground. The two of them drove home together in the darkness.