Minor League Team’s Bus Flips Over En Route To Game, Injuring Eight (Photos)

Members of the Carolina Mudcats are fortunate to be alive after a scary incident early Tuesday morning.

The Atlanta Braves’ High Single-A affiliate was en route to Myrtle Beach, S.C., when its team bus crashed and flipped over in Columbus County near the North Carolina-South Carolina border at approximately 3:45 a.m. ET.

Eight of the 33 people aboard the bus were taken to the hospital, but none of their injuries were life-threatening, according to Kay Worley, the Emergency Services director for Columbus County.

A North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper told the Tabor-Loris Tribune that the bus driver was charged with “exceeding a safe speed,” which caused the bus to flip onto its passenger side while taking a sharp turn. Players and personnel reportedly escaped the bus via roof hatches.

After seeing images of the crash, it’s pretty miraculous that no one sustained serious injuries. Mudcats director of broadcasting and media relations Greg Young tweeted some alarming photos from the scene.

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Several Mudcats players — most of whom were sleeping when the bus flipped over — expressed their gratitude for escaping unscathed.

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According to Young, the team already was back together by 8 a.m. and on its way to Myrtle Beach. Yet it appears there won’t be any rush, as the Myrtle Beach Pelicans have postponed their Tuesday night contest against Carolina.