The sewage fell through this bridge deck of the Kinzie Street Bridge.
Posted on 01/19/2005 5:21:16 PM PST by Land_of_Lincoln_John
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) The tour bus driver for the Dave Matthews Band was formally charged Wednesday with dumping human waste on passengers of a sightseeing boat.
The alleged driver, Stefan A. Wohl, surrendered to police Wednesday. He faces two misdemeanor charges of reckless conduct and contaminating the Chicago River. Whol, 42, was released on $1,000 bond.
Wohl now faces up to one year in prison and a $10,000 fine.
In August, passengers were hit with 80 to 100 gallons of waste as they cruised under the Kinzie Street bridge. Investigators said the dumping could not have been an accident.
Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine discussed the charges against the driver at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has also filed a civil lawsuit seeking $70,000 in damages against the band and driver alleging they violated state environmental laws.
According to authorities, Wohl was alone in the bus and driving to a downtown hotel on Aug. 8 when he allegedly emptied the bus' septic tank as it crossed the metal grates of the Kinzie Street bridge.
The 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.
Three personal injury lawsuits have been filed in Cook County Circuit Court against the band and the driver.
The most recent suit was filed on behalf of five plaintiffs were on the architectural sightseeing tour boat at the time of the dumping, according to the lawsuit. It seeks unspecified damages in excess of $50,000.
The suit accused Wohl of negligently operating the bus, not yielding caution, not warning of danger before dumping human waste, discharging human waste onto the plaintiffs and contaminating the environment.
The suit alleges that Wohl picked up a member of the band at a hotel at 1 p.m. on Aug. 8, and drove on the Kinzie Street Bridge 18 minutes later. It accuses Wohl of dumping 80 to 100 gallons of human waste while on the bridge.
The plaintiffs suffered physical and mental pain as well as "nausea or vomiting and other physical or mental ailments," according to the suit.
Another suit that also seeks unspecified damages was filed Nov. 24 by Nancy M. Todor, who said she was also on the boat at the time of the incident.
The suit, filed against the band and Wohl, claims that waste entered her "eyes and mouth and covered her hair and her clothing and other personal belongings, all of which were soaked with the liquid human waste."
A suit with similar claims was also filed by the Illinois Attorney General's office against the band and Wohl on Aug. 24. That suit charged both the band and the driver with violating state water pollution laws, as well as common law public nuisance laws.
Court dates for all of the suits were not available Wednesday.
No one from the band could be found for comment Wednesday, but a statement saying the band was still investigating was released Oct. 22.
"We are not comfortable with the time it is taking us, and we have decided to take action now even though it may turn out the incident was not caused by one of our buses. We simply want to begin the healing process," according to the October statement, which was posted on the band's Web site.
The Dave Matthews Band, known for their commitment to the environment, has already donated $100,000 to river restoration efforts after suspending the driver.
Did the boat have pro-Bush stickers on it?
I should go back and re-read the article.
That's some funny shit, oh sorry.
Will they be charged for noise pollution as well?
I hear the boat was called the USS Danny Thomas...
I guess their price is a lot more than $100K...
Unless I am incorrect in my understanding of Dave Mathews - that effluvium could have been HIV+.
What I want to know is, how did the bus driver know that this particular bridge was the right place to pull the switch and dump his cargo? It would appear he has done it before or perhaps it is known in rock music circles as a place to dump? Most bridges I know of have asphalt paving, so dumping on them would not send the refuse into the river below...
Why charge the driver, he was just under orders from his superiors, why not travel on up to the boss and nail him?
EWWW THAT SMELL!... CAN'T YA SMELL THAT SMELL!?... THE SMELL THAT SURROUNDS, YOU...
The sewage fell through this bridge deck of the Kinzie Street Bridge.
I wonder if this is a common occurence in Chicago...
You know, you read of people (truckers, allegedly) leaving jugs of urine in parking lots, but I swear I don't recall ever hearing of a RV or bus driver dumping their holding tanks like this...
I'm not for frivolous lawsuits but I would sue the "Crap" out of these A-holes!!
Maybe that thing he does with his feet when he sings is the peepee dance.
Talk about someone who really gives a sh*$.
This stinks!
While driving? I wonder if this is a standard feature on RV's? or just his?
Another example of Limonsine liberals acting badly.
It was a bridge grate, not a glass table :)
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