59, was arrested and charged Monday with two counts of murder in a possible DUI accident that killed Naiomi Deona James, 11, and Jayla Latrice Parler, 13.
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Jayla Latrice Price and Niomi Deona James were killed in the crash when Halsell’s auto hit them from behind at a high rate of speed that it pushed the victim’s vehicle into the median before it overturned. The AP notes that James was said to be in good condition and ready for release Tuesday from a Tuscaloosa hospital, while Cutts remains in fair condition. Halsell told troopers he did not remember leaving his motel room and did not remember the crash.
Tuscaloosa County Jail via The Tuscaloosa NewsJames Halsell Jr., shown in this undated mugshot, was charged with the murders of two girls killed in a traffic accident.According to Alabama news website AL.com, the girls were sisters who were traveling from Texas for summer vacation with their father when the crash occurred. The Fiesta went through the left eastbound lane and into the median where it flipped at least twice before landing in the left westbound lane.
The accident happened at 2:50 a.m. Monday on US 82 near the 65 mile marker, 10 miles east of Tuscaloosa.
State troopers say the children died in a two-car crash, and a preliminary investigation indicates alcohol and speed may have been factors.
Halsell had been traveling to West Monroe, Louisiana, and stopped before the crash to get a room at a Motel 6 in Tuscaloosa, according to the court documents.
“Halsell’s speech was slurred, eyes were dilated, clothes dishevelled and he was unstable on his feet and smelled of alcohol.”
While at the motel, he allegedly told police, he drank three glasses of wine.
Years before he would be charged in the murder of two young girls, James Halsell Jr. was a highly decorated astronaut who logged over 1,250 hours in space during his five space flights.
Investigators searched the area and Halsell’s vehicle but there was no evidence that he had ingested any drugs or alcohol after the crash. He was commander on three of the missions and a pilot on two others. Officers and witnesses alike said Halsell appeared intoxicated. Halsell retired a decade ago to work in the aerospace industry.
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Among his many assignments, Halsell served as manager of Shuttle Launch Integration at Kennedy Space Center.
