2004 оны наймдугаар сарын 8-нд болсон уг үйл явдлын улмаас Чикаго гол дээгүүр зорчиж байсан аялагчдын хөлөг онгоц дээр их хэмжээний бохир ус асгарчээ.
Дэйв Мэтьюс Бэнд хамтлагийн аялан тоглолтын автобусны септик танкнаас 800 фунт буюу 360 орчим кг хүний ялгадас бүхий бохир ус Кинзи гудамжны гүүрээр өнгөрөх үедээ гол руу асгарсан байна. Энэ үед тухайн автобус дээр хамтлагийн гишүүд байгаагүй бөгөөд бохир ус яг доор нь зорчиж байсан “Chicago’s Little Lady” хөлөг онгоцны 120 зорчигчийн гуравны хоёр дээр унажээ. Зорчигчдын зүгээс гомдол гаргасны дараа таван хүн эмнэлгийн үзлэгт хамрагдаж, хөлөг онгоцны тасалбарын мөнгийг бүрэн буцаан олгосон юм.
Мөрдөн байцаалтын явцад хяналтын камерын бичлэгээр Стефан Вол гэх жолоочийн автобус уг хэрэгт холбогдолтой болохыг тогтоосон байна. Жолооч С.Вол болчимгүй үйлдэл гаргаж, ус бохирдуулсан гэдгээ хүлээн зөвшөөрч 18 сарын тэнсэн харгалзах ял, 150 цагийн нийгмийн ажил хийх ял авч, 10,000 ам.долларын торгууль төлжээ. Хамтлагийн зүгээс тухайн жолоочийг ажлаас нь халсан байна.
Дэйв Мэтьюс Бэнд 2005 оны дөрөвдүгээр сард Иллинойс муж улсын захиргаатай эвлэрлийн гэрээ байгуулж, гэм буруугаа хүлээхгүйгээр 200,000 ам.долларыг байгаль орчны боловсролын хөтөлбөрт, мөн тус бүр 50,000 ам.долларыг Чикагогийн цэцэрлэгт хүрээлэн болон гол хамгаалах байгууллагад хандивлахаар болжээ. Хамтлагийн ахлагч Дэйв Мэтьюс уг үйл явдалд харамсаж буйгаа илэрхийлж, хохирогчдоос уучлалт гуйсаар байхаа мэдэгдсэн байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
On this day, August 8, back in 2004, Dave Matthews Band found themselves in the middle of a true s–tstorm.
It was 22 years ago that a tour bus for the group dumped 800 pounds of human waste from its septic tank into the Chicago River as it crossed the Kinzie Street Bridge. The band members themselves weren’t on the coach at the time.
Making matters worse: the waste rained down on an open-air sightseeing boat, Chicago’s Little Lady, below. Per the Chicago Tribune, “poop deck” took on a whole new meaning after two-thirds of the 120 passengers aboard were hit by the falling feces.
“It was a waterfall of toilet water that we passed under,” passenger Bret McNeil later recalled to the local paper. “And then there was like an unmistakable smell…People began to scream. They got very angry. Some people then started vomiting.”
According to a lawsuit later filed against the band, “the liquid waste was brownish yellow in color, and had a foul, offensive odor.” It allegedly went into the mouths and eyes of some of the boat passengers, with five of them going to a hospital nearby for testing. The passengers were all reimbursed for their $25 tickets.
Inside the Investigation
A witness came forward with a license plate, identifying a bus belonging to Dave Matthews Band’s bus driver Jerry Fitzpatrick. He, however, denied any involvement, saying he was parked elsewhere in the city.
The band also issued a statement, saying “all of the buses on our tour were parked at the time of this incident.”
A big break in the case came on August 25, when Mayor Richard Daley held a press conference identifying a bus driven by Stefan Wohl as the one responsible for what was later dubbed “Poopgate.” The allegation was backed up by video surveillance footage from a nearby gym showing Wohl’s bus as the only one crossing the bridge at that time.
Wohl was responsible for driving band violinist Boyd Tinsley and was reportedly on his way to pick up Tinsley for a concert when the incident occurred. The driver, however, initially denied discharging the waste—while the band released a statement saying they were reserving judgment until seeing the evidence.
The Illinois Attorney General’s office later filed a civil lawsuit against the band, seeking $70,000 in damages.
Charges & Settlement
In the end, Wohl pleaded guilty to charges of reckless conduct and water pollution. He was given 18 months probation, 150 hours of community service, and slapped with a $10,000 fine, which was paid to the Friends of the Chicago River advocacy group. The band, meanwhile, confirmed he had been fired.
In April 2005, the band also settled with the State of Illinois. While they did not admit guilt in the incident, they agreed to pay $200,000, to be used toward environmental education. They also made $50,000 donations to both the Chicago Park District and Friends of the Chicago River, while agreeing to record when and where their tour buses empty their septic tanks going forward.
“Although the band members were not on the bus when the incident took place, we have always said that if it was our bus we would take responsibility for what happened,” DMB’s publicist said at the time, extending the group’s “deepest apologies” to all those affected.
Dave Matthews Reacts
Matthews himself has addressed the incident as well, telling NBC Chicago he’ll “apologize for that as long as I have to.”
“The bus driver lost his job, and I didn’t have my finger on the button, but it was one of our buses — wasn’t mine — but it was one of the buses in my employment and so I feel bad about it,” he added. “It would be funnier if it was anyone else but me.”
“I regret that enormously, and I know some people there accept my apology and other people don’t, but I can’t do anything about it now,” Matthews added. “If Snoop Dogg had done it, it probably would have raised his record sales, but it applies differently to everybody.”
