Bus Bound For Masters Overturns On Highway; Driver Charged With DUI

Masters weekend got off to a frightening start for a group of passengers heading to Augusta National.

A charter bus carrying more than a dozen passengers overturned Thursday morning on Interstate 20 in Georgia’s Columbia County. The bus apparently was en route from metro Atlanta to the 2018 Masters Tournament when it flipped after crashing into a median around 8:45 a.m. ET, according to Georgia State Patrol.

Perhaps most disturbingly, the bus driver, identified as 61-year-old Steven Hoppenbrouwer, was charged with driving under the influence and failure to maintain lane, Georgia State Patrol told the Augusta Chronicle.

Seven passengers were taken to Augusta University Medical Center where five are in critical condition, according to the Chronicle. Several other passengers were taken to Doctors Hospital in Augusta with non-life threatening injuries.

The incident also caused severe delays for both eastbound and westbound traffic on I-20, an unfortunate development on the first day of a highly anticipated Masters tournament.