A Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge on Friday reduced the bond for a man accused of a fatal hit-and-run that claimed the life of a cyclist in July.
Kenneth Pegler, 55, of the 900 block of Mildred Avenue in Temperance, is charged with alternative counts of aggravated vehicular homicide with impairment, two counts of failure to stop after an accident, and one count of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or both for the July 30 death of Nicholas Reinhart, 30.
Reinhart was westbound in the 200 block of East Alexis Road when he was hit from behind by a white pickup truck about 2:40 a.m. and dragged beneath the vehicle before becoming dislodged “many feet later,” according to police. The truck fled the scene. A following driver found Reinhart in the roadway and called 911, but Reinhart died shortly thereafter at Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center.
Pegler’s bond was initially set at $100,000. Based on statements he made in a recorded phone call — that he intended, upon posting bond, to resume driving even though his driver’s license was suspended — and reports from tipsters that he had described options to flee the area, prosecutors requested it be increased.
Judge Dean Mandros increased Pegler’s bond to $750,000 during an Aug. 9 hearing based on the prosecutors’ motion but demanded new information to support the increase.
At the time, defense lawyer Jerome Phillips told Judge Mandros the facts in the prosecutors’ motion were either unsubstantiated or, regarding a statement about Pegler owning property in Canada, false.
Pegler has several prior impaired-driving convictions and has a case pending in Monroe County in which he is accused of fleeing the scene after drunkenly crashing a vehicle into a house last year, trapping two of its occupants in their bedroom under his car.
Following a bond hearing Aug. 19, Judge Mandros decided Friday to reduce Pegler’s bond to $100,000.
If he posts bond, Pegler will be placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring and an alcohol monitor. He would be prohibited from consuming any drugs, alcohol, or prescription medications, unless prescribed by a doctor. He would also be required to surrender his passport and driver’s license and would be banned from driving until further notice.
Also on Friday, Pegler was arraigned on a charge of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony. The charge also stems from the July 30 fatal accident. His bond for that charge has been set at $25,000.
His trial is scheduled for Sept. 23.
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