Brent Warstler will be allowed out of jail if he is able to post $50,000.
The decision came Monday morning after roughly 30 minutes in testimony at a bail hearing.
Deputy District Attorney Susan Howard said Warstler should be kept in jail until his trial.
Warstler is accused of being drunk when he ran a red light and crashed into a taxi cab in Old Town. Howard said Warstler was traveling twice the speed limit in the 20-mile-per-hour zone.
The crash, which happened at the intersection of Northwest Fifth Avenue and Northwest Everett Street, killed 20-year-old Rebbeca Bray and severely injured Brandi Butner, police said.
Butner's father, Bruce, testified at the hearing -- saying his daughter will have to undergo three to four months of physical therapy.
"What [Warstler] did is inexcusable," Butner said.
Warstler had a blood-alcohol level of .20 one hour after the crash, Howard said.
Before Monday's hearing, Warstlers bail had been set at just over $297,000.
Christian Day, the defense attorney appointed to the case, said his client has expressed appropriate remorse. He said Warstler should be allowed to post bail because he does not pose a flight risk; Day said Warstler only has about $5,000 in savings.
Judge Alicia A. Fuchs said her decision could not be based on emotions but one of legal rights.
She ordered that bail be set at $50,000. Warstler will be required to wear an ankle bracelet that detects even the smallest trace of alcohol.
If he is able to post bail, Warstler must report to Closed Street Supervision.
It is expected that he will live with family in Gresham if and when he is released, a CSS deputy said.
Following the hearing Butner told members of the media that he was mad with the judges decision.
"I'm not happy with this verdict," he said.
A tentative trial date has been set for March 13, 2013.