On a Sunday afternoon, Denise Breaux was excited to be traveling with her six-year -old daughter to see her first musical concert featuring her favorite singer Hillary Duff, in Baton Rouge – two hours later the event turned tragic.
Denise says a friend of the family who was driving both she and her daughter home after the concert, missed the Interstate 10 exit and tried to correct her mistake by driving across three lanes of traffic toward the highway median. After realizing she could not make the exit, the driver swerved the vehicle back to I-12, causing it to flip over – Abigayl Breaux, was thrown from the sports utility truck and died instantly.
“I will never forget what it was like seeing my baby girl helpless on side of the highway,” Denise told the Herald-Guide.
“I was so scared to hold her because I thought I would hurt her so I laid against her and softly rubbed her tummy, and I kept telling her to wake up so we could tell her daddy and brother about the fun she had,” she continued
“But her eyes never opened – a mother is supposed to protect her children and it really tears me up knowing that I couldn’t save Abigayl,” Denise said.
Abigayl’s memory lives on in the form of scholarships awarded to graduating seniors who attend college in the field of performing arts.
“We started the scholarship fund to remember Abigayl’s creative spirit, she loved to dance, sing and draw,” Denise said.
“My family and I cherish the wonderful memories we have of our beautiful angel the emptiness of not having her will always be with us,” she continued.
“We want this scholarship as a way to keep her memory alive – it’s almost like a piece of her is with the recipients of her award.”
The Abigayl Breaux Memorial Scholarship fundraiser will be held Saturday, March 24, 2007, at the Paradis Fire Hall on Barber Road, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
“One of the prizes is an autographed football that was donated to us by the New Orleans Saints.”
The scholarship receipent will be presented a plaque and a $1500 a check on the night of the Hahnville High School awards ceremony on April 24, 2007.
“We have been doing this for three years and our first two recipients were Angele Cazenave, a student at UL of Lafayette and Kari Duet, a student attending Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond,” Denise said.
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