TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - A former astronaut is free on bond after being charged with murder in a wreck that killed two girls in Alabama.           

A spokesman for the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office, Lt. Andy Norris, says 59-year-old James Halsell Jr. of Huntsville is free on $150,000 bond.           

Norris says Halsell was released about 6:30 p.m. Monday, nearly 16 hours after the crash that killed 11-year-old Niomi Deona James and 13-year-old Jayla Latrick Parler of Brent earlier that day.         

State troopers say the children died in a two-car crash, and a preliminary investigation indicates alcohol and speed may have been factors.