A mother and her two young children died after a suspected drunken driver traveling the wrong way on a southwest Georgia highway collided head-on with their vehicle, authorities said. The crash has drawn attention to the persistent dangers posed by impaired drivers on rural and high-speed roads.
The victims were identified as 32-year-old Bernedine Spann, 13-year-old Ja’Leah Spann and 7-year-old Jaxton Spann, according to the Georgia State Patrol. The family was traveling on U.S. Highway 82 in Lee County just after nightfall Jan. 14 when their Honda Accord was struck by a vehicle driven the wrong way, officials said.
Bernedine and Ja’Leah were pronounced dead at the scene. Jaxton died several days later at a hospital, authorities confirmed.
Suspected DUI and Crash Circumstances
State police said 41-year-old Sherita Goddard was suspected of driving under the influence when the wreck occurred. Goddard was reportedly going the wrong direction in a Hyundai Tucson when she collided with the Spann family’s car. She and a passenger believed to be her daughter were transported to medical facilities with injuries.
As of Monday, charges against Goddard had not been publicly confirmed by law enforcement.
Family members described the collision as a needless tragedy. Shonda James, who said she had been Bernedine’s close friend for a decade, said the woman who caused the crash should be held fully accountable. “She needs to take accountability. She needs to go to jail,” James said, according to local reports.
The children were students in the Randolph County School System; school officials said counseling and support services were available for students and staff affected by the deaths.
Backstory on Wrong-Way and DUI Crashes
Impaired driving continues to be a major safety concern in Georgia and nationwide. According to the CDC, more than 11,000 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in the United States in 2023, representing nearly 30% of all traffic fatalities that year. (CDC 2025 traffic safety report)
Wrong-way collisions — often involving drivers under the influence or disoriented — are particularly deadly because they commonly result in high-speed head-on impacts. Georgia State Patrol data shows that wrong-way collisions in recent years have increased, prompting campaigns to improve signage, lighting and public awareness to reduce such incidents. (Georgia DOT 2025 traffic safety overview)
In December 2025, a separate wrong-way crash on I-75 in Whitfield County, Ga., resulted in multiple deaths and prompted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to call for enhanced enforcement and preventive strategies against impaired driving and wrong-way travel on highways.
Community Response and Support
A GoFundMe page set up by family and friends to assist with funeral and medical expenses had raised tens of thousands of dollars as of this week, organizers said. Bernedine Spann also leaves behind another young son who was not in the car when the crash occurred and is now grieving the loss of his mother and siblings.
Friends and community members have held vigils and calls for accountability as the investigation continues.
