A judge lowered bail Thursday for a man accused of DUI in connection with a crash that killed his daughter.
Defense attorneys wanted him to be released from jail in time for her funeral.
Calvin Hayashi, 73, was arrested in May after a late afternoon crash at West Warm Springs Road and Montessouri Street, near Rainbow Boulevard, in the southwest valley.
The Metropolitan Police Department said he drifted into oncoming traffic and collided with another car. His 33-year-old daughter Loretta Hayashi was taken to University Medical Center, where she died.
According to a police report, Hayashi said he takes morphine at night and oxycodone in the morning to manage pain from a surgery. An officer said he had pinpoint pupils consistent with narcotics being in his system.
His bail was previously set at $500,000 in Justice Court.
“The State secured a staggering $500,000 bail in this case by telling this Court that Mr. Hayashi was driving while actively ‘high off pain meds,’” defense attorney Charles Goodwin said in a filing. “That claim has now been completely debunked. The official toxicology and laboratory reports have come back as below the per se levels and well within therapeutic ranges.”
District Judge Christy Craig reduced his bail to $25,000, an amount requested by his lawyers. If he is released, Hayashi will be on high-level electronic monitoring and is not allowed to drive, she said.
Deputy District Attorney Afan Tarar said prosecutors were not seeking to detain Hayashi. He asked for her to reset bail to $75,000.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com.
