Masters fans hurt when bus overturns

A charter bus headed to the Masters overturned on a Georgia interstate Thursday, injuring 15 people and snarling traffic as scores of fans made the pilgrimage to one of golf’s premier events. The bus driver was charged with driving under the influence.

The bus carrying 18 passengers crashed about 8:45 a.m. Thursday, just as fans were driving in for the tournament’s first round. Sgt. Chris Wright of the Georgia State Patrol said the driver ran off the right side, then overcorrected and caused the bus to overturn in the median. Some passengers suffered broken bones and head injuries, Wright said, but none were life-threatening.

The bus driver, 61-year-old Steven F. Hoppenbrouwer of Gwinnett County, Georgia, was charged with DUI and failure to maintain lane. Wright said investigators believe Hoppenbrouwer had been using drugs, not alcohol. He said passengers told authorities the bus had drifted off the edge of the roadway twice before it veered a third time and crashed.

“They were starting to become concerned about his ability to drive,” Wright told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “One of the guys had even said, ‘I’m not riding back with him. I’ll call an Uber to get back to Atlanta.”’

The crash blocked Interstate 20 in both directions about 15 miles from the tournament at Augusta National Golf Club along a major route from Atlanta, where many fans fly in before driving the last leg. It took hours to clear the crash, and even then authorities advised drivers to look for alternate routes.

Nine of the injured passengers were taken to Doctors Hospital in Augusta, which said in a statement that one passenger was in critical condition Thursday afternoon. The hospital said six passengers were either in good condition or had been treated and released.