Carolina Mudcats ‘fortunate’ after team bus crashes

Several members of the Carolinas Mudcats organization were hospitalized for a time but released after the team’s bus wrecked on a Columbus County road early Tuesday while taking the squad from a victory in Salem, Va., to a planned three-game series in Myrtle Beach, S.C., the organization said.

“We’re obviously very fortunate,” Joe Kremer, vice president and general manager of the Mudcats, said. No players had broken bones and all were being taken on to Myrtle Beach, he said.

Tuesday night’s game against the Pelicans was postponed, and the Carolina League website said no makeup date had been scheduled yet. Kremer said a series in early June might be an opportunity for a double-header to make up the game.

The bus, owned by Abbott Trailways Passenger Bus, was westbound on Clarendon Chadborn Road near Whiteville when it ran off the right side of a curve, hit a ditch and turned on its side about 3:45 a.m., State Highway Patrol Sgt. Michael Baker said.

Troopers said seven people who complained of minor pains from the crash were taken to Columbus County Regional Hospital.

Kremer said he had been told the bus was following a detour on an unfamiliar route when the crash happened.

There were about 30 players and Mudcats staff on the bus, troopers reported, and the ones not hurt were taken on a county school bus to the county Emergency Operations Center in Whiteville.

“Some guys will probably have to not play for a few days,” but the team should be back to normal quickly, Kremer said.

The Mudcats are a Class-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.

This story was originally published May 12, 2015 at 6:47 AM with the headline "Carolina Mudcats ‘fortunate’ after team bus crashes."