On December 4, 1928, Dapper Dan got behind the wheel of his Paige coupe and turned on the ignition. A bomb located beneath the floorboards detonated and blew off his right leg. He slipped into a coma at the hospital and died nine hours after the blast. He was given a funeral worthy of Prohibition-era Chicago and was buried in Calvary Cemetery. His widow, Leila Hogan, was heard to say, "I am sure there will be justice. If Danny had lived, he would have gone on the one leg they left him and taken care of it himself."