Pirates' Bus Driver Arrested, Charged with DUI During Trip from Chicago to Milwaukee | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
Emily Baldwin A bus driver transporting the Pittsburgh Pirates was stopped and charged with a DUI after driving erratically Thursday night.
The Pirates, who lost 7-2 to the Chicago Cubs Thursday, were on their way to Milwaukee when a state police escort stopped 61-year-old bus driver Ronald E. Funderburke, Reuters reported (h/t ESPN.com).
"During the escort, the bus driver... was not following the escort and was traveling away from the escorting officers," said the Illinois State Police in a statement provided to CWB Chicago.
The police originally thought the driver was experiencing a medical emergency before he was arrested at the scene. Funderburke exhibited "multiple signs of impairment," the police spokesperson said.
Funderburke, from Shelby, North Carolina, was hired to drive the team but is not affiliated with the Pirates. The team did not share which company he works for.
The stop occurred around 11:30 p.m., about 25 minutes from Wrigley Field, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Jason Mackey reported. Nobody was hurt.
"We are deeply concerned regarding what transpired last night. The important thing is that all of our personnel arrived in Milwaukee safely," Pirates senior vice president of communications Brian Warecki said in a statement provided to media outlets.
Warecki continued: "Buses are contracted out to a local provider, which was consistent with this trip, and we are now in communication with the appropriate parties regarding this matter."
The Pirates made it to Milwaukee in time to face the Brewers in a 5-4 loss Friday night.