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Author
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Topic: Astronaut Jim Halsell charged in fatal accident
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 46465
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-18-2019 08:51 AM
   
Court records show the trial of former NASA astronaut Jim Halsell is scheduled for Dec. 9, reports the Associated Press. The 63-year-old Halsell was arrested after a wreck killed 11-year-old Niomi Deona James and 13-year-old Jayla Latrick Parler in rural Tuscaloosa County in 2016.Halsell has pleaded not guilty. |
p51
Member Posts: 1719
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 11-18-2019 04:53 PM
I handle bodily injury claims for a major insurance company. I'm not familiar with Alabama liability case law, but they have two standards for civil liability, negligence and wantonness. Punitive damages may be awarded under AL state code 6-11-20. Aggravated liability generally goes along with punitive damages, unlike simple liability. Simply put, in many states, if you're drunk, you get the double-whammy than if you simply just had an 'oops' like running a red light or pulling out into the path of a car you just didn't see (while you were otherwise doing okay and sober)This is a civil issue, though, and doesn't really have a bearing on the criminal trial. In other words, he'll get hit for the laws he broke, and then for the civil responsibility, and his insurance carrier will handle that on his behalf, and would almost certainly offer policy limits immediately once they can, unless he carries umbrella coverages that can sometimes go into the seven-digit range. If he carries the normal liability for his auto like most people, it'd probably be the 5 to 6-digit range. If that's the case, his insurance carrier would offer to 'dump' the limits of his liability once they can do so. As for the criminal aspects, I took a peak at their case laws. It don't look good for COL Halsell... |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 46465
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-19-2019 07:07 PM
Jim Halsell was having an abnormal reaction to Ambien at the time of the crash, according to his lawyer, as reported by the Associated Press. Jim Sturdivant, an attorney for retired astronaut James Halsell Jr., told WAAY-TV in a Monday (Nov. 18) report that the two-car wreck was a "sleep-driving episode" caused by Ambien, also known as zolpidem.Halsell, 63, of Huntsville had an "abnormal response" to the medication, Sturdivant said. "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 Col. 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." |
albatron
Member Posts: 2804
From: Stuart, Florida
Registered: Jun 2000
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posted 11-30-2019 10:35 PM
...was a "sleep-driving episode" caused by Ambien, also known as zolpidem. I had been told this in confidence some time ago. With all the speculation here I wanted to say something — but could not. I appreciate Robert asking to keep speculation out of this.It will be an interesting test case. No matter how you slice it, it is tragic. But not a simple DUI. |
eurospace
Member Posts: 2656
From: Berlin, Germany
Registered: Dec 2000
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posted 12-01-2019 08:58 AM
With products like Zolpidem and other benzodiazepines patients are always told not to drive a car thereafter. Pretty standard advice, and nothing abnormal, as this lawyer seems to claim. |
fredtrav
Member Posts: 1760
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010
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posted 12-02-2019 10:30 AM
It is stated that you should not drive taking Zolpidem, but you do not seem to understand the claim made by the lawyer. In fact, I commented on that in the first page that this is a possible side effect. Zolpidem has some possible bizarre side effects. One of them is "sleep driving." You do not consciously preform the act. You go to sleep in your bed, you don't intend to drive. However you, while not waking up, get in the car and drive. A more bizarre form of sleep walking. It is uncommon but has been reported several times. Sleep cooking, and sleep sex have also been reported on Zolpidem. So it is possible he never intended to drive and did it unconsciously as his lawyer has stated. Zolpidem now has a "black box" warning stating these possible side effects. |
p51
Member Posts: 1719
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 12-02-2019 12:05 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
Jim Halsell was having an abnormal reaction to Ambien at the time of the crash, according to his lawyer
Of course he's saying that. Any good lawyer looks for a way out for their client.Good luck in front of a jury with an argument like that. I have seen many civil liability arguments made on meds, and usually you don't win with that, as you're supposed to be made aware of the dangers of your meds when you first get them. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 46465
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 12-02-2019 12:22 PM
Rather than speculate on how a jury might or might not react, or debate the merits of any reported detail, I suggest we wait until the trial begins — if not until after it ends — to comment on the case.Updates, as shared by the court or in the media (as above by the AP) will continue to be posted as available. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 46465
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 12-06-2019 07:14 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
Court records show the trial of former NASA astronaut Jim Halsell is scheduled for Dec. 9...
WHNT News 19 reports that the trial has been rescheduled. James Halsell Jr.'s trial has been set for Feb. 3 in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court.The trial was originally scheduled to begin Monday, but it was moved after Halsell's attorneys notified the court they had a number of pretrial motions they expected to file that could push the date back. |
fredtrav
Member Posts: 1760
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010
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posted 04-08-2020 04:50 PM
James Halsell's trial set for June 8th. A judge is Tuscaloosa issued an order Monday setting James Halsell’s reckless murder trial for June 8. In-person courthouse proceedings are shut down statewide because of the coronavirus pandemic. But the judge entered a written order without a hearing. |
Scottvirgil
Member Posts: 11
From: London UK
Registered: Aug 2019
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posted 05-20-2020 11:49 PM
The case has been put back until August. Jim Halsell's trial over the deaths of two young girls in a 2016 crash is now set for August 3 according to newly filed court records. |
MSS
Member Posts: 902
From: Europe
Registered: May 2003
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posted 05-27-2021 11:38 PM
James Halsell Jr. pleaded guilty to two manslaughter and two assault charges in the traffic deaths of two girls on Thursday (May 28), the Associated Press reports. While Halsell could have received 20 years for each manslaughter charge and 10 years for each assault charge, a judge agreed to probation and ordered him to spend four years in prison without early release followed by 10 years on supervised release. Halsell could be sent back to prison for 16 years if he violates probation after his release, said District Attorney Hays Webb, who opposed the lighter treatment. James R. Sturdivant, a lawyer for Mr. Halsell, said Thursday in a statement that his client had accepted responsibility for the crash, reports The New York Times. He said that a toxicology report "clearly showed that Ambien/Zolpidem sleep medication was the primary cause of the bizarre and tragic sequence of events that occurred that night." ...Hays Webb, the district attorney for the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Alabama, which includes Tuscaloosa County, said he had agreed to let Mr. Halsell plead to a lesser charge, in part, because it carried a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. "We offered the maximum, under manslaughter, and thought that was appropriate," he told reporters outside the courtroom. With respect to the sentencing, Mr. Webb said he did not believe Mr. Halsell's work history "influenced or benefited him in any fashion — absolutely not." |
KSCartist
Member Posts: 2982
From: Titusville, FL
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 05-28-2021 07:27 AM
The end to a tragic story. Halsell serves four years (maybe less with good behavior) but the family he destroyed serves life. He is responsible for getting behind the wheel when he shouldn't have. |
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