A bus driver who tested positive for methamphetamine after crashing en route to the Masters Golf Tournament in 2018 was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 10 years on probation. The crash injured 10 passengers, some seriously.
Steven Hoppenbrouwer, 63, pleaded guilty on Feb. 4 in Columbia County Superior Court in Georgia to all charges he faced. He could have been sentenced to 152 years in prison.
On April 5, 2018, he was driving a Freightliner minibus carrying 18 passengers on Interstate 20 near Augusta, Georgia, when the bus swerved off the right side of the pavement, over-corrected to the left and turned over in the median. The prosecutor told the court the crash left passengers with broken bones, lost use of limbs and a traumatic brain injury.
Investigations following the crash found that Hoppenbrouwer had falsified a medical report claiming he had successfully completed a drug treatment program and had operated a passenger vehicle that he was not qualified to operate.
On June 19, 2018, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration declared Hoppenbrouwer to be an imminent hazard and ordered him not to operate any commercial vehicle in interstate commerce.
FMCSA said it “found that Hoppenbrouwer had previously failed to complete a federally required evaluation and treatment program led by a substance abuse professional after testing positive for a controlled substance in 2015 – however, he falsely certified he had done so on a FMCSA Medical Examination Report Form he signed on March 5, 2018.
“FMCSA investigators further discovered that even though Hoppenbrouwer possessed a CDL endorsement for a limited and specified type of commercial vehicle, on at least one occasion he illegally operated a motorcoach for which he was not qualified to drive.”
