Holsell James (James Halsell)

Holsell James (James Halsell)

Biography

2021: Guilty plea to manslaughter of two girls in a car accident

At the end of May 2021, James Holsell pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of two girls in a car accident that occurred in 2016. The former NASA astronaut faced up to 30 years in prison, but the judge sentenced him to four years of probation and another 10 years of supervision. In case of violation of restrictions, Holsell can go to prison for 16 years. Relatives of the dead girls considered the court verdict unfair.

My daughters were amazing, beautiful, smart, strong little girls who could become anyone in this world if they had the opportunity to grow up, but this was taken away from me and everyone else in this world, "said Latrice Parler, the mother of the girls.

A tragic accident occurred in June 2016. Then James Holsell, driving a rental car Chrysler 300, crashed into a Ford Fiesta, whose passengers were 11-year-old Niomi James and 13-year-old Jayla Parler. As a result, Ford skidded, and the car rolled over several times.

Both girls, who were not wearing seat belts, flew out of the car and died. Two adults who were in the car in the front seat were injured and were hospitalized.

According to a preliminary investigation, the causes of the accident could be Holsell's alcohol intoxication and speeding.

During his work at NASA, James Holsell made five space flights on the shuttles Columbia and Atlantis. In total, the American spent more than 1250 hours in space. After leaving NASA, he continued to work in the aerospace industry, according to his biography on the website of the space department. Awarded five NASA Space Flight Medals. He has the rank of colonel of the US Air Force.^[1]

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