Charter Bus Going To Masters Tournament Overturns On I-20

COLUMBIA COUNTY, GA — The driver of a tour bus traveling to the Masters Tournament in Augusta has been charged with drunk driving after the bus overturned Thursday morning on Interstate 20 in Columbia County, Patch has learned.

The Georgia State Patrol said troopers received a call around 8:45 a.m. April 5 of the accident on the eastbound side of the interstate at mile marker 186. A preliminary investigation indicates the vehicle ran off the right side of the road and the driver overcorrected back to the left, resulting in the tour bus overturning in the median.

There were 18 passengers on the bus, and several of those riders have been transported to Doctors Hospital in Augusta with non-life threatening injuries, the state patrol said. The hospital said nine people were treated after the bus flipped on the interstate. Of the nine patients hospitalized, one is in critical condition, one is in serious condition, one is in fair condition and the others have been treated and released, said spokesperson Lynthia Ross.

“Our team is uniquely skilled to treat patients injured in a motor vehicle crash,” Trauma Services Medical Director Dr. Christopher Hogan added in a statement released by the hospital. “When we combine the extraordinary skills of our trauma team with the unique talents our caregivers in the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital, we are able to save lives and dramatically improve outcomes for our patients.”

The driver of the bus, Steven F. Hoppenbrouwer, 61, of Gwinnett County, has been charged with driving under the influence and failure to maintain lane. The bus is owned by Jet Executive Limousine, Inc. Troopers were told by passengers that the bus was traveling to the Masters Tournament in Augusta, the Georgia State Patrol told Patch.

This is a developing story, so return to Patch for updates.

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Photo: Steven F. Hoppenbrouwer. Credit: Columbia County Jail.