Drivers in Washington will face up to $5,000 in fines and possible jail time under a new law aimed at those who don’t properly secure their cargo.

On Friday, May 13, Gov. Christine Gregoire signed HB1478, which makes it a gross misdemeanor if debris falling from a personal or commercial vehicle injures another person.

Fines under the new law will increase up to $5,000 and/or a year in jail if a person is injured or killed; previous violators could only be given a $250 citation. Drivers with loose loads that damage property will face a $1,000 fine and/or up to 90 days in jail.

The bill came about after 25-year-old Maria Federici was blinded and suffered broken bones in her face when a piece of particle board flew off another vehicle and smashed through her windshield, according to The Washington Olympian.

Because of a loophole in state law, the driver of the other vehicle, James Hefley, was charged with two traffic citations totaling less than $400, according to a press release from the bill’s co-sponsor, Rep. Al O’Brien, D-Mountlake Terrace.

“It’s too late for Maria, but it’s not too late to keep this from happening to someone else,” Robin Abel, Federici’s mother, told the King County Journal.

According to a study by AAA, more than 25,000 wrecks and 90 deaths a year are caused by road debris.