WILTON, N.Y. -- The family of Angie Dean is seeking justice after her death, from an apparent heroin overdose, at a local motel on January 3. They're asking state lawmakers to pass a bill that would hold drug dealers accountable for overdose deaths. 

Dean's family says five years ago, she injured her back. In order to keep working, she was prescribed opioids. But over time, that became too expensive for Dean.

"She got off of that because of the expense of it behind her parents and brothers and sisters, and she went to the streets and started buying drugs on the streets and ended up purchasing heroin," said Phil Viger, of his daughter.

Dean soon got hooked on heroin. Her family says she battle the addiction for several years. Dean even went to rehab twice.

"Angie loved life. She was fighting a battle and she was toughening it," said Judy Viger, Angie's sister. "If there was anybody out there that could beat this, it was her."

Angie Dean couldn't. She was 40 years old. 

"It haunts me that somebody took money in exchange for my sister's life and they think that it's okay and they can get always with it and it's not," Viger said.

Dean's family is now offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the person who sold her the drugs, and an arrest. They've also hired their own private investigator.

"That $10,000 is a lot of money and it's a lot of money to them drug dealers out there and I'm sure one would like to rat the other one out for it," Phil said. "And I'm hoping you do, please do."

They're also asking state lawmakers to pass Laree's Law. It would allow large-scale heroin dealers to be charged with homicide if a person they sell the drug to someone who then dies from an overdose.

"It's being distributed across every corner of every county in the state of New York," said state Sen. George Amedore, who is sponsoring Laree's Law in the Senate, where the bill has passed three straight years, only to stall in the Assembly. With a new session underway, Amedore says it'll be one of his top priorities again. 

"It's a big issue," Amedore said. "It effects everyone in the community so we need to do everything possible to have the proper tools and resources to fight this battle."

Dean's family believes the stiffer penalty would discourage some drug dealers from selling heroin.

"The only way that we can keep Angie going longer is to get this law passed and hopefully we can save other people's lives out there," Phil Viger said.

Viger has also started an online petition for this bill.