Dave Matthews Band bus incident
41°53′21″N 87°38′22″W / 41.889076°N 87.639371°W
On August 8, 2004, a tour bus belonging to Dave Matthews Band dumped an estimated 800 pounds (360 kg) of human waste from the bus's blackwater tank through the Kinzie Street Bridge in Chicago onto an open-top passenger sightseeing boat sailing in the Chicago River below. The incident became popularly known as the Dave Matthews Band incident or Poopgate.
The members of Dave Matthews Band were not on or near the bus during the incident. The band's bus driver, Stefan Wohl, initially denied dumping the waste, and was supported by the band. However, he was later found to have been the only person on the bus during the incident; in April 2005, he pleaded guilty to the dumping, and the band fired him without pay.
As part of the band's 2005 legal settlement with the state of Illinois, in exchange for the band not admitting guilt to the incident in court, its members agreed to pay a $200,000 fine that would fund environmental protection efforts and other related causes. They also donated $100,000 to two groups that protect the river and the surrounding area.