Man charged in deadly Oak Lawn crash had bail reduced after judge told initial blood-alcohol information wrong

Bail for 27-year-old Daniel Regalado was reduced from $500,000 to $300,000 Friday on charges related to a crash last month that killed a 12-year-old girl in Oak Lawn. | Adobe Stock Photo

A Little Village man charged in a deadly crash in Oak Lawn had his bail reduced after Cook County prosecutors recently revealed that he was less intoxicated than authorities initially reported.

At Daniel Regalado’s first bond court hearing last month, prosecutors said his blood-alcohol level was 0.45 — nearly six times the 0.08 legal limit — following the Jan. 20 incident that claimed the life of 12-year-old Cire Robinson.

But late last week, prosecutors told Judge Mary Marubio that Regalado’s blood-alcohol level was actually just 0.04, which is under the legal limit.

Marubio ended up reducing 27-year-old Regalado’s bail from $500,000 to $300,000, court records show.

Authorities initially gave prosecutors inaccurate information about Regalado’s blood-alcohol level, a state’s attorney’s office spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Daniel Regalado

Regalado is still facing an aggravated DUI causing death charge and reckless homicide.

But prosecutors dropped a misdemeanor DUI count against him and amended another DUI charge to impaired driving.

Regalado allegedly admitted drinking a “Mickey’s beer and a 40-ounce Corona” before getting behind the wheel of his Chevy Impala on the night of the crash.

Regalado ended up veering into oncoming traffic and hitting a Cadillac Escalade head-on in the 4900 block of South Cicero Avenue, prosecutors said.

Regalado claimed he was being chased by someone shooting at him, but prosecutors said there was no evidence to support that account.

Cire, who was riding in the Escalade, was killed in the wreck. Two young women and the 51-year-old man driving the Escalade also suffered injuries from the crash, prosecutors said.

Regalado was filled with “remorse,” an assistant public defender said at his hearing Friday.

Sobbing, Regalado said he also had a daughter and that he wanted to apologize to Cire and her family.

At the time of the crash Regalado had pending cases against him for unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and manufacturing and delivering cannabis, prosecutors said.

Regalado’s bail in at least one of his other pending cases has been revoked, records show, and he remained held at the Cook County Jail as of Tuesday.