The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime that Changed Their Lives (2017)

This section of the book opens with a description of Richard’s activities the day of the incident, which happens a “week or so” (105) after the robbery. Richard gets up, his mother lectures him about his grades, and after school, he leaves with his older cousin Lloyd. Lloyd has a reputation as a troublemaker, but Richard respects him.

In “The 57 Bus” Slater describes Sasha’s usual hour-long commute from school to home and explains that Sasha took the bus because “They love buses” (107). Sasha is obsessed with public transportation, and the 57 bus, despite being “loud, obnoxious” (108) and “charged with daredevil energy” (108), was a place they felt comfortable to spread out and “read, do homework, nap” (108). This particular day, November 4, 2013, they fell asleep.

Next, Slater recounts exactly what happens from the moment Richard and Lloyd board the bus until Richard sets Sasha’s skirt on fire. Slater relies on audio and video recordings from several cameras on the bus that document every minute leading up to the event. Richard and Lloyd see a friend, Jamal. Lloyd is boisterous, shouting and jumping up and down, trying to catch the attention of a girl.