MERCER COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - He lost his teenage daughter to a car crash nearly a year ago. Now, a father and a sheriff is honoring her memory by helping other students.

Mercer County Sheriff Ernie Kelty started a scholarship in Alyssa Kelty's honor. So far, his family has helped four students and they hope to double the number this year. Sheriff Kelty sat down with WKYT to talk about not only the heartache, but also the success of the scholars.

Everywhere he goes, Sheriff Ernie Kelty has things that remind him of the daughter he lost.

"There's not 30 minutes in a day that doesn't go by that I don't think about my daughter," he explained.

A year ago her car collided with an SUV on a dangerous curve on Perryville Road in Mercer County.

"God makes sprinters and long distance runners, and Alyssa was a sprinter."

Alyssa Kelty was 17.

"I was so proud of her and so proud of the things that she did for other people."

Sheriff Kelty created a scholarship for high school students, like Alyssa. The Keltys gave four students scholarships last year, two from Mercer County High and two from Burgin. One of those students was Molli Crawford.

"What she meant to everyone, and knowing that I got that scholarship in her name, it made it really special to me," explained the St. Catherine College freshman, "she's a girl that brought our hometown together. Even though I didn't know her personally she brought a lot of us together."

"This is something that we really, really want to do forever," Sheriff Kelty said, "and as long as we get the money then we're going to keep up the scholarships."

Farmer's Bank & Capital Trust in Harrodsburg is handling all donations to the Alyssa Kelty Scholarship fund. They can be reached at (859) 734.2626.