A Birmingham man with a lengthy history of drug arrests is now charged in the deaths of two women killed following a Sunday morning police chase and crash in Bessemer.

Courtland Dion Griffin, 38, is charged with two counts of felony murder. Killed in the crash were Amanda Lynn Hill Pigg, 37, and Stacie Carroll Williams, 36.

Pigg and Williams were passengers in Griffin's car when he crashed trying to elude officers. Bessemer police Sgt. Cortice Miles on Tuesday said Griffin ran from officers who tried to stop him on a traffic violation because he thought he had an outstanding arrest warrant. It turns out there was no pending warrant at the time.

The crash happened about 2:40 a.m. Sunday. Sgt. Miles said officers made a traffic stop at the intersection of 16th Street and 7th Avenue North. When police approached the vehicle, the driver fled at a high rate of speed.

Police caught up to the Honda at the intersection of 9th Avenue and 19th Street North, as a Ford SUV crashed into the fleeing car.

Williams, who was a passenger in the Honda's back seat, was thrown from the vehicle. She was pronounced dead on the scene at 2:43 a.m.

Pigg, also a passenger in the Honda, was taken to UAB Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 5:46 a.m. Coroner's officials were able to locate and notify her family Tuesday morning.

Griffin was taken to Princeton Baptist Medical Center, but has since been released. He is now being held in the Jefferson County Jail with bond set at $150,000.