ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Anchorage woman who was injured when a trash can hit her car has pushed Alaska lawmakers to make unsecured loads illegal.
Kelly Roy was driving into Anchorage on Glenn Highway in February 2015 when a trash can stuck her windshield, causing her car to roll multiple times, KTUU-TV reported Thursday.
Her experience has prompted lawmakers to pass an amendment, making failure to contain or confine a load a misdemeanor. Gov. Bill Walker is expected to sign the bill into law Monday in Fairbanks.
Following the wreck, Roy woke up in an intensive care unit with broken bones and a severe brain injury.
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“The last thing I remember is a loud boom, and my car rolled four times,” Roy said.
Roy said she remembers seeing the trash can flying through the air at highway speeds.
“There was this car in front of me that had suddenly radically swerved,” Roy said. “It was too late for me to realize why.”
The driver of the truck that had the unsecured trash can never stopped and would have only faced a $300 littering fine, Roy said.
Aiming to prevent others from going through a similar experience, Roy started working with state lawmakers to push for criminal penalties for unsecured loads.
“I went to Juneau many times to speak in front of committees and tell them my story, and implore them that it was important to pass this,” Roy said.
Under the measure passed by the state Legislature this year, an unsecured load that causes injury to another person is class A misdemeanor punishable by fines and jail time.
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Information from: KTUU-TV, http://www.ktuu.com