Former Astronaut Released After Serving Four Years for Fatal DUI Crash
A former U.S. astronaut has been released from a Decatur prison after serving a four-year sentence for a DUI crash that killed two sisters in Tuscaloosa County in 2016.
James Halsell Jr. was released on Memorial Day, according to WAFF in Huntsville. In May 2021, Halsell pleaded guilty to manslaughter and first-degree assault DUI charges.
On June 6, 2016, 11-year-old Niomi James and 13-year-old Jayla Parler were traveling with their father and his fiancée when their vehicle was struck from behind by Halsell's rental car on U.S. 82. The impact caused the family's vehicle to overturn, leaving the father unconscious and his fiancée seriously injured.
Prosecutors stated that Halsell had consumed alcohol and medication at a Motel 6 shortly before the crash, which occurred at approximately 2:50 a.m. He was on probation from a previous DUI conviction in California at the time.
Investigators found an empty wine bottle and a ten-pack of sleeping pills in Halsell's hotel room. He reportedly could not recall the crash and made incoherent statements at the scene.
Initially charged with murder, Halsell accepted a plea deal that included four years in prison and 10 years of probation.
Halsell became an astronaut in 1991, completing over 1,250 hours in space across five missions, and served in various NASA roles before retiring in 2006.
Authorities continue to emphasize the tragic loss resulting from impaired driving.