It has been nearly a year since an 8-year-old girl was killed in a car crash. Family members are now working to keep Abbagail Buzard's memory alive.

The crash happened last September on Oak Orchard Road in the town of Barre, Orleans County. Abbagail's father, Corey Buzard, 33, told police he was too drunk to drive that night and had his unlicensed 17-year-old cousin Courtney take the wheel.

Police said Courtney lost control of the car and it rolled down an embankment. Abbagail was thrown from the car and pinned underneath the wreckage. She later died from her injuries.

It has been a difficult time for loved ones, but now the family is working on a new state law to spare future families the same kind of loss.

For Necole Buzard, keeping her daughter Abby's memory alive is her life's purpose. And now for the first time, legislation called "Abbagail's Law" has been introduced to make sure that happens.

"Oh she was so funny. She was very dry, sarcastic, and witty,” Necole Buzard said.

Abbagail loved to wear her mother's high heels and model in the mirror. Before the crash she would ask her mother why God gave her such beautiful red hair.

“I know that when you can't protect your child all the time, that it's the worst feeling in the world,” Buzard said.

Buzard is trying to move past the "what ifs” by taking on an effort to save other lives along the way.

“I'm sure a lot of parents are letting their kids go to the non-custodial parent house thinking that their child is going to be in the care of that parent and is going to be safe,” Buzard said.

But Abbagail wasn't safe. Her father was the only adult in the car. He was supposed to be supervising the 17-year-old driver with a permit. The problem was he was drunk and there is no law against it, but Abbagail's Law would change that.

“It says the responsible licensed driver in the car has to be sober and not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They have to be able to control the vehicle,” Buzard said.

The proposed law would charge the "supervising" driver with a Class A misdemeanor. Senate Bill 7435 is right now in the Transportation Committee.

“If 'Abbagail's Law can protect some other child, then she lives on,” Buzard said.

The drivers of the car, Courtney Buzard, pleaded guilty to attempted criminally negligent homicide; the father, Corey, plead guilty to criminally negligent homicide. Both are due back for their sentencing in Orleans County Court in August.

Abbagail's Law