Dave Matthews Band dumps waste into the Chicago River

What happens on a rock star's tour bus generally stays there, but the Dave Matthews Band's dirt made a public appearance earlier this month in Chicago.

The band is being sued by the state of Illinois for allegedly dumping up to 800 pounds of liquid human waste from its bus into the Chicago River on August 8, informs The Associated Press.

According to Reuters, bus driver working for the ecologically minded Dave Matthews Band could face prosecution on charges of dumping the vehicle's load of human waste off a Chicago bridge onto a tour boat, police said on Wednesday.

The possible criminal charges against the bus driver follow a civil suit brought on Tuesday against the band and its tour bus operator by the Illinois attorney general.

Police at a news conference showed an image of the bus taken from a security camera trained on the bridge spanning the north branch of the Chicago River near downtown, and said it was the only bus to cross at the time of the incident. It is illegal to dump waste into the already polluted river.

No members of the band, which was in Chicago as part of a tour, were on board the bus at the time.

The bus driver has denied responsibility, saying his bus had been parked at the time of the mishap.

The Dave Matthews Band is known for its support of "green" causes, touting its efforts as a way to offset the air pollution produced by its tour buses.

A publicist for the band did not have an immediate comment.

NBC5's Lisa Tutman reported that police released a photo that they said shows a bus on the Kinzie Street Bridge. The picture, taken from surveillance cameras along the bridge, shows the bus before the incident takes place, police said. Pictures from a leasing company show identifying marks of buses leased by the bands, and that they match bus in the picture.

Police also said there is a distinctive timeline in the surveillance video, which is conclusive, Tutman reported.

"The incident was reported to have occurred at 1:20 -- this bus crosses [the bridge] at 1:18 and 15 seconds," said Detective Mike Chasen of the Chicago police. "We know that no other bus crossed within 15 minutes prior or 15 minutes after, so certainly, this is the bus that discharged that fluid.", reports MSNBC News.

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