ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — Jessica Angel was 11 years old when a drunk driver took her life in Paulding County in 1995, killing her, her mother and her 3-year-old brother. Angel’s stepmother, Lisa Lingerfelt, says in an instant, her family was thrust into a criminal justice system they knew nothing about.

“I had never had any knowledge of anyone being killed in a DUI crash, and at this moment in time, we don’t even know if there’s going to be any charges,” Lingerfelt said.

The family was hours away from the crash scene, learning of Angel’s death through voicemails left on their home answering machine. Lingerfelt says the days that followed were chaos, and they had no one to guide them. That is, except for an organization that provided the family with unwavering support.

“They were there from the very beginning, being a victim advocate for us, helping us understand the system, helping us understand the laws and just basically helping us through this very difficult period of our time,” Lingerfelt said.

MADD provides support for victims

That lifeline was MADD — Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Cynthia Hagain, who serves as the Regional Victim Services Manager for Georgia, says what this family experienced is something she hears across Georgia every day.

“It is a violent, tragic and senseless way to lose a loved one because it is so preventable,” Hagain said.

The driver who killed the 11-year-old girl, Jeffrey Scott Palmer, had four prior DUIs before that deadly crash according to MADD.

He was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and released in August 2025. Palmer was cited for two more DUIs in Paulding County in January 2026.

He appeared in court on March 6, 2026. Georgia’s 10-year look-back period had wiped his record clean because he spent that decade behind bars, according to Lingerfelt.

“Not a single person in the courtroom knew what he had done in his past, neither the solicitor nor the judge,” Lingerfelt said.

WALB has reached out to Palmer’s defense team for comment, and we are waiting to hear back.

Repeat offenders: A growing concern

MADD says repeat offenders are a growing concern across Georgia. State data shows one in four fatal crashes already involves an impaired driver. Hagain added that when the system fails to track a driver’s full history, the consequences can be deadly.

“There are a few that the maximum sentence has not made an impact. And that’s absolutely heartbreaking,” Hagain said.

MADD says this is not an isolated case. Across South Georgia, families are navigating a system that wasn’t built with victims in mind. In rural communities, the resources to help them are even harder to find.

For Angel’s family, 30 years of leaning on that support has not dulled the pain, but Lingerfelt says MADD has made sure they never had to carry it alone.

“We can’t ever receive any peace from this because we’re just so afraid he’s going to kill or hurt another family, and nobody’s doing anything about it,” Lingerfelt said.

MADD Resources for Georgians

MADD Georgia holds a free monthly virtual support group every third Thursday, open to anyone impacted by impaired driving across South Georgia.

Below are more resources MADD offers:

• 24-hour Victim Helpline
  • 1-877-MADD-HELP (1-877-623-3435)
  • [email protected]
• Georgia-specific services
• Victim Impact Panels
  • View a full list of dates and locations in Georgia and Alabama
• Community service/Volunteer opportunities
• Info about Educational Programming

Concerned citizens can also reach out to MADD to report cases by emailing the defendant’s complete name, date of birth, case number, name of prosecutor, name of court, address of court, date the case is going to court and proof of prior DUIs/Child endangerment to [email protected].

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