TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — A former NASA space shuttle commander indicted on reckless murder charges in the traffic deaths of two girls pleaded guilty to reduced charges Thursday nearly five years after the crash.

James Halsell Jr., 64, of Huntsville, pleaded guilty to two manslaughter and two assault charges during a hearing in which relatives of the victims wore shirts emblazoned with images of 11-year-old Niomi Deona James and 13-year-old Jayla Latrick Parler, killed when a car driven by Halsell slammed into one driven by their father in rural Tuscaloosa County.

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.

The former astronaut, who went to work in the aerospace industry after leaving NASA in 2006, apologized in court and was taken into custody immediately the hearing. Outside court, the girls' mother, Latrice Parler, said relatives weren't pleased with the outcome.

“It wasn't justice,” said Parler, who told the judge about the last time she saw the children and recounted the anguish of losing them.

“My daughters were amazing, beautiful, smart, strong little girls that could have been anything in this world if they had the opportunity to grow up, but that was taken from me and all of everyone else in this world,” Parler said. Halsell's apology didn't seem sincere, she said.

Webb said there were “no winners” in the case.