KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii >>  A District Court judge has refused to lower bail for a Big Island man charged with manslaughter in the death of his young son.

West Hawaii Today reports that 38-year-old Pedro Peter made his first court appearance Monday morning.

Peter’s lawyer asked Judge Joseph Florendo to lower the bail amount from $52,000 to $5,000 or $10,000. But, the judge rejected that proposal. Prosecutors pointed out that Peter had previously failed to appear in court on traffic charges.

Peter was driving when his 3-year-old son fell out of the cab of a truck and was run over. He is charged with manslaughter, driving without a license, failure to have no-fault insurance, four counts of failure to have a child restraint and three counts of endangering the welfare of a minor.