Ex-space shuttle commander charged in crash that killed two girls, 11 and 13, claims he was ‘sleep-driving’ and blames medication Ambien
- Colonel James Halsell Jr., 63, is awaiting trial for reckless murder in June 2016
- Crashed into a car carrying two half-sisters while allegedly drunk and on drugs
- Niomi Deona James, 11, and Jayla Latrick Parler, 13, were thrown from the car
- Halsell had an adverse reaction to Ambien, his lawyer said on Monday
- Halsell, who flew five shuttle missions for NASA, has pleaded not guilty
A former space shuttle commander charged in the traffic deaths of two sisters in Alabama was having an adverse reaction to Ambien when he crashed, his lawyer has said.
Colonel James Halsell Jr., who flew five shuttle missions for NASA before retiring, was allegedly under the influence of drugs and alcohol when he crashed in Tuscaloosa County in 2016.
Half-sisters Niomi Deona James, 11, and Jayla Latrick Parler, 13, were killed in the wreckage and Halsell, 63, is awaiting trial for reckless murder.
Jim Sturdivant, Halsell’s attorney, told WAAY-TV in a Monday report that the two-car wreck was a ‘sleep-driving episode’ caused by Ambien, also known as zolpidem.
Half-sisters Niomi Deona James, 11, and Jayla Latrick Parler, 13, were killed in the wreckage in 2016 and James Halsell Jr., 63, (right) is awaiting trial for reckless murder.
Halsell, of Huntsville had an ‘abnormal response’ to the medication, Sturdivant said.
Halsell Jr., pictured not long after the crash, by Tuscaloosa County police
‘It is not uncommon for zolpidem or Ambien to render a person incapable of controlling their actions and totally unaware of their behavior,’ he said.
‘While Colonel Halsell deeply regrets the tragedy this incident created, he is innocent of the charge that is being brought against him by the Tuscaloosa County district attorney’s office.’
The crash happened about 2.50am on June 6, 2016, on a highway that Halsell mistook for Interstate 20/59, authorities have said.
An investigation showed he was intoxicated from alcohol and sleeping pills.
Troopers said at the time that a Chrysler 300 driven by Halsell collided with a Ford Fiesta in which the girls were riding.
The girls, who were not wearing seat-belts, were thrown from the vehicle. Niomi was pronounced dead at the scene and Jayla later died at a local hospital.
Authorities said their father and his girlfriend were with them.
Documents show Halsell told authorities he had been driving to Louisiana to pick up his son.
Space shuttle Atlantis mission commander James Halsell Jr. speaks to reporters at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in April 2000
Halsell has pleaded not guilty.
A judge has set Halsell’s reckless murder trial for December 9 in Tuscaloosa, but it could be delayed at least briefly for other cases.
Halsell flew five shuttle missions before retiring from NASA and worked in private industry before the wreck. He is free on bond.