Dave Matthews Band bus driver dumps human waste

[AllyCat]

Found this on www.boatnerd.com on the news page. What the heck was he thinking? Nice to see the band has donated some money to the River fund and the Chicago parks.

-snip-

Bus driver pleads guilty in sewage dumping incident

3/11
A bus driver for the Dave Matthews Band pleaded guilty Wednesday to dumping 800 pounds of human waste from the vehicle's septic tank onto a sightseeing boat on the Chicago River last summer.

The driver, Stefan Wohl, was sentenced to 18 months probation, 150 hours of community service and the maximum $10,000 fine, which will be paid to Friends of the Chicago River, said Tom Stanton, a spokesman for the Cook County State's Attorney's office. Wohl pleaded guilty to the original charges filed against him in January, reckless conduct and discharging contaminates to cause water pollution, Stanton said.

According to authorities, Wohl was alone in the bus of band violinist Boyd Tinsley on his way to a downtown hotel Aug. 8 when he emptied the bus' septic tank as it crossed the metal grates of the Kinzie Street bridge. The human waste poured through the grates and onto the open deck of the Chicago's Little Lady tour boat, which was passing below with more than 100 people on board.

The boat immediately returned to its dock and was disinfected, and officials with the Chicago Architectural Foundation, which operates the tour, offered refunds. They said they received several calls from angry passengers who also demanded compensation for clothing and personal items.

Authorities used surveillance tapes from area buildings to zero in on the bus and consulted with engineers to determine the waste release was not an accident. Prosecutors said the band cooperated in the investigation, flying Tinsley to Chicago to be interviewed by authorities and bringing the bus, one of a number used by the band, back for inspection.

The band has since donated $50,000 to the Friends of the Chicago River and $50,000 to the Chicago Park District.

Reported by the Associated Press

[Tektonik]

1. Damn according to the headline I thought...

Dave Matthews would have been dumped himself into the river.

[stellanoir]

2. All I can think of in reference to this. . . is that poor

woman having her birthday entirely wrecked. . . ewwwwww. . .gross. . .Yet, Matthews is a total environmentalist. It's hardly his fault at all.

Still is hard to get over the "guilt by association" thingy when I hear him on the radio.

I know it's really illogical, yet it persists nonetheless. Ughhhh.

[Cooley Hurd]

3. "Um, Folks... I assure that was NOT part of the tour..."

Can you imagine being on that boat?:puke: