TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — A grand jury in Alabama has indicted a former NASA space shuttle commander on four felony charges in the traffic deaths of two girls killed on a rural highway in June, a prosecutor said Thursday.
Grand jurors indicted James Halsell Jr., who turns 60 today, on two counts each of reckless murder and assault, said Tuscaloosa County prosecutor Jonathan Cross.
The Huntsville resident was arrested on reckless murder charges after the June 6 wreck that killed 11- year-old Niomi James and 13-year-old Jayla Parler in the west Alabama county. Police reports show investigators believe alcohol and speed could be factors.
The reckless murder charges involve the girls’ deaths, Cross said, and the assault charges stem from injuries suffered by the girls’ father, Pernell James of Brent, who was driving, and his female friend, Shontel Cutts.
Halsell is free on bond. A lawyer representing him, James Sturdivant, declined comment on the indictment.
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