Delores Gookstetter had just left Bellingham after babysitting her grandkids. Her 7-year old granddaughter Teaya headed back with her.

When the little girl pleaded to sit in the front seat, Delores relented.

But just as they passed Burlington, a truck driving in front of them lost its load.

"As it was happening, I was thinking, 'Oh no! She's in the front seat where I didn't want her to be," Delores said.

She was able to stop the car on I-5 even though she couldn't see through her shattered windshield. Her granddaughter was OK.

But she wasn't the only one Delores was thinking of.

"I just thought of that gal on 405 that had that happen to her and then I heard a thud and my windshield was shattered."

A year ago, Maria Federici lost her eyesight when a piece of furniture flew off a truck and into her windshield. It crushed her face.

That driver never stopped. When police caught up with him, he got nothing more than a traffic ticket for an unsecured load.

Prosecutors didn't have enough evidence to prove he knew he caused the accident.

"There's been so much publicity about securing loads, I can't believe people aren't being more careful about it," Delores said.

In Delores' case, the driver did stop. He is a 78-year old man from Coupeville. He told troopers he tried to secure his load of wood and wheelbarrows, but the single piece of rope was hardly enough.

Troopers had other reasons to be suspicious, so they him a breathalyzer test and the driver blew an 0.08 reading -- just enough to be arrested for drinking and driving.

Meanwhile, a bill is now making its way through the State Legislature that would make unsecured loads punishable by jail time instead of a traffic ticket.

It would also make victims eligible for financial help from the state