Washington state troopers are on the lookout for what they call "dangerous litter." It's anything that can fall from your car or truck that can hurt or kill another drier.

The state has launched a new TV campaign with the title "litter and it will hurt." The message: Litter isn't just an eyesore; it can also be deadly.

It's an ad campaign that Heidi Coffee begs you to hear. Her husband, Gavin, was killed last August on Interstate 5 in Shoreline in a pileup caused by shelving that fell out of a truck. Gavin had four children and a fifth on the way.

"He was not admitted as a patient. He was taken to the morgue," she said.

Before Gavin, there was Sandy Harmon, who was killed in a Tacoma crash caused by a tarp that flew off a truck.

And before that, Maria Federici was blinded for life by furniture flying out of a U-Haul trailer and in through her windshield.

With those accidents and as many as 400 more each year in our state, the state wants to get the word out that litter can and does kill people, and the 480 million tossed cigarette butts each year cause countless roadside fires in the state.

The TV campaign aims to remind you that your lives, your wallet and possible jail time are at stake. And a grieving widow begs you to consider whose life your choices might claim.

A tossed cigarette butt can cost you up to $1,025 in fine. An unsecured load that hurts someone can earn up to a year in jail.