Ex-astronaut indicted traffic deaths of 2 girls in Alabama

(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.

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.

The girls' father told investigators he was driving about 65 mph on U.S. 82 when a car traveling "at a very high rate of speed" struck his Ford Fiesta from the rear, crushing the Ford and sending it tumbling across the road, court documents state.

A sworn statement by a state trooper said Halsell was driving a rental car at the time and told officers he thought he was on Interstate 20/59, not U.S. 82.